PLDN Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Home in Time For the Holidays/The Road to New Home Sub-Entry 101: "A Big Clue to Unravel the Mystery": “Simple answer. They can’t.” Bunnie crossed her arms. “Two humans?” Mettaton rubbed their chin. “Granted, this is perplexing.” “And impossible. The cameras have recorded every instance that a human has fallen into the Underground. Every child that came here had to go through the RUINS...counting the first fallen who passed away in New Home with the Prince...this child here should be number eight. There’s never been an instance where a ninth has fallen.” In that instance Alphys lost her stutter. A new mystery had opened up before us. “First things first. “The child in the CORE room. They need assistance.” “I have the healing items. I should go.” I volunteered. “I can open a shortcut to there from here now that I’ve been there.” Bunnie unfolded the Shodouphone, having picked it up before we left and made sure it was functional. She scripted one of the “X” series jutsus. “Bakudou no XXX-G. Kuukanten’i ” Bunnie opened a tear in space and I could see the heart-shaped platform on the other side. It had retracted into the floor. A ways from it, covered up by the fog machines, still running, was... “There she is.” I dove through. Once on the other side I found Frisk’s body. I checked for a pulse. “Alive. But HP is way low.” I stuck the old bandaid to them and let the magic take its course. After a while...she opened her eyes. “Wake up, Frisk.” As soon as she saw me, she freaked and scooted away. “Well. That’s a fine hello.” Okay, so I WAS being a little harsh. A little more lanolin and little less cold shoulder, Volt. Metaphorically speaking. “You’re very lucky. That could have been the end of your run. Especially considering how much your Determination has been dwindling.” She whimpered. “Feeling your old sins catch up with you? Your collective guilt? It’s harder than ever to try to bring this in for a landing.” I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t even know why I’m asking anymore. If you’re not going to tell me, then fine.” Sniffles...and tears. “He lied to you. You know that. I know that. Were you really that fooled?” No answer. But an even sadder look. “I get it. You feel like everyone’s turning on you for no reason. And I was the first to start...only I had a reason. Pretty big one. You sense it from Sans, don’t you?” “...” “You know what...I really thought we could come to an understanding. But I guess that’s never going to happen.” I stood up and walked toward the rift. I heard it just before I was about to enter. “What did you say?” “I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.” Frisk broke down. She dropped to hands and knees and bowed in a pretty close version of what the Jangese called the "if-all-else-fails" apology. Only it wasn't. I turned. “So you you can talk.” “I can also listen. And...I listened to the wrong person, Dr. Arcade.” “I guess you know my name.” I was still being lukewarm at best. “I ruined everything. I tried to make up for it with this run but...everything’s going wrong around me.” “Frisk...” “I didn’t know this would happen. I just thought...I could finally stop. Stop resetting...” I sighed and sat down. “Maybe we both didn’t know how hard this was going to be.” There's a five-year-old revelation on my part. “I’ve been hearing things as I traveled back and forth...rumors that I attacked Mom...Papyrus...Miss Undyne...” So they were aware. “I don’t know anymore. Maybe...maybe Sans was right. Maybe if we were ever friends...I should just have never come back.” I could tell their Determination was suffering. Did that mean...the other Frisk’s determination was growing? At this rate...if that was the case...then maybe THEY’D soon have control over the player interface. Maybe they would be the one playing the game. “I don’t know how to fix this. I shouldn’t have listened to him. When he approached me...I though he was...” Frisk looked up at me. “But now...I can see...” A clue if there ever was one. “Frisk. You’ve done enough for today. Go back to MTT Resort and rest up. My friends and I will work on this while you recover. Frisk wiped her eyes on her sleeve......waaaait a minute... “So. I guess you’re still doing this for him?” “He doesn’t deserve this.” “I know. Just...don’t try to hard to force a happy ending. I already tried that. Look how that turned out.” Frisk nodded. "Tell me this much...which...one are you?" I asked, being pretty direct. I hoped this Frisk was old enough to have enough insight to know what exactly I meant. I hoped they were at least as extra aware of things as they were previously. "I...wish I knew. After...so many resets...I don't even know any more. Sometimes I remember it one way...then sometimes I remember it another. Sometimes I came to the Underground covered in scars from...a bad childhood...sometimes not. I can't even remember my own origin story anymore. I'm so lost...and so weary...I just want to give them all a better ending a--" "Perfect ending." I finished. "Yeah...I know that feeling better than you'd think." I looked off to the side. "So...there were...other Frisks, right?" Frisk nodded. "It's like we're...just photocopies of the same soul. But..." "With variations. With Monster Souls...usually they're pretty spot-on duplicates. One Toriel is like the next. One Asgore like the previous." I paused a moment. "Every Asriel...one and the same...at least...that's under ideal conditions. Unstable timelines sometimes...have unexpected results..." I thought about my own Asriel. I couldn't help but think...maybe he was like Lady Destiny's grand experiement. Maybe...she wanted to see one finally be happy instead of die and have his memories wind up in a souless flower abomination trying to get Chara back. "Human souls...I get the feeling in this world, they're harder for even a goddess to...clone. To reincarnate to play the game all over again." "I...know it sounds weird...but I miss Chara. I remember encountering them so many times...even partnering with them...but I can't say for sure I ever really got to know them. Sometimes a girl...sometimes a boy. Sometimes agender. All of the fallen children must be that way. There's just...no rule deciding which they'll be in any timeline." "Yeah. I've learned that a long time ago." This was groundbreaking. I'd never conversed with a Frisk until now. I'd never gotten to know one until now. And quite frankly...I still didn't know what to what to think of her...of this iteration. "Frisk...if you're not the original...what happened to the others?" "I don't know. Each version of me disappeared for some reason or another. I think...each of us was a replacement for the last one. Something happened after so many resets and erases that they couldn't go on. Some of us must've given our souls to whichever Chara was there at the time." "Strange. The previous Chara didn't have any additional souls. I kinda...expected her to use them against us...like weaponizing them somehow." "If a Chara had that ability...I don't...remember it. If I did encounter it...it's lost with the other timelines that no loner exist." I hadn't given this much thought. But it was possible I could open other timelines and try to see for myself. But doing that in the past had often given me disturbing results every now and then. The ones that didn't completely form...the non-functional "games"...yeah. Finding viable ones similiar to the one we were in now...needle in a haystack was understating it. “Anyway...I have to get back. I have my own home to get to. But I’ll return. You know that, don’t you?” Frisk nodded. I started to leave when Frisk tugged on my lab coat sleeve. "Hmm?" "Can he...be saved?" I smiled. "Stay determined. And find your own answer, Frisk. I can only do so much to help this timeline along. I can't play the "game" for you. Even if we are all just the pawns of goddesses...you're still the player." Frisk looked down and thought on that for a bit...before letting my arm go. "I'll...be waiting for him." "He'll be waiting for you, too." "...and the other one?" "Who do you think I was talking about?" I smiled briefly. "You know you're going to get to see the one that belongs to this timeline. If I were to say anything more...well...I've already complicated this timeline enough." Frisk looked melancholic. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. Now....scoot, you.” As Frisk left I took another scan with the Giga Meter. It was time I ran this through the proper equipment with the comparison of the other scans I’d taken. As soon as Frisk left the room. “So that was your little twist, Madam Fate. Clever. Verrrrry clever. I’d say it’s time to retaliate...but not the way you expect me to.” I pounded my fist into my palm and left through the tear in space. Bunnie closed it behind. “Now what?” “We head home, Volt.” By this time Mettaton had left the lab and headed back to Waterfall in secret to...check up on someone important to him. Getting in through the doorway, now, would certianly be...interesting, now that he was corporeal. Which just left Alphys. “Take c-c-care. And--” “We’ll keep the Prince safe. It may no longer be his timeline...but adoption is something he’s rolled with, very well. I’m sure some day he’ll want to come to this timeline...and reconnect with his past.” What I wasn’t saying...was how much I feared that day. “So...h-how are you going to get home? To this...VGM-098 world of yours?” I smirked. “Ever seen a flying Delorean?” Sub-Entry 102: "Regrouping Back in Town": “A....wh-wh-wh-what?” I dug out the Remote Control Box. “Come to the roof. This is going to be so cool.” "Er...o-o-okay." Alphys nervously followed Bunnie, Violet and I up the unspecified route to the top of the building. Once we were top-side. "I've...n-never really had a reason to c-come up here. I don't know if I l-l-like looking down on the world. In th-the literal sense. I have no right to do so in the m-metaphorical--" "Alphys, please don't overthink things. I do that enough for my team." "You must learn self-confidence, Alphys-hakase." Alphys was in that all-too-familar nervous pose that I had seen from the pangolins in a section of Lupe's nature preserve ; her arms hanging with hands overlapping one another over, one foot on top of the other. "Hey. You're secrets are safe with us." I comforted. "ALL of us." Bunnie emphasized grabbing Violet's collarbone a little tightly. "Okay! Okay! Pinky-swear!" "No more incidents like the vaping portrait." "Uhh...?" "For your own sanity, Alphys...do not ask." Bunnie strongly recommended. "Any time you're ready, Commander." "Okay. And. You're s-secrets are safe with m-m-me as well. G-g-golly. Who'd even b-believe me? I'm n-not sure I believe it myself. This is...definitely the strangest thing to happen to m-me. But...I r-really want it to be the b-b-best thing to happen to me." "Don't worry, Alphys. I have a good feeling about this timeline. We pull this off and you'll be pleasantly surprised. And finally free of all that baggage you're carrying. Can't say much else. No one should know too much about their own destiny. Besides...there are still forces out there trying to tamper with everyone's hopes and dreams. We'll just have to deal with it as it comes." I fiddled with the RC Box. "Okay, GPS is locked and autopilot is returning to the remote control's beacon. Annnnnd...we should see something...pretty soon." I pointed in the direction the time vehicle should arrive from. "Provided it doesn't pass by Tsunderplane, it should go completely unnoticed." That was right about when the Delorean became visible. It didn't take long for Alphys' eyes to widen...and then for her to freak out. "D-D-Delorean?" She pointed, tripping over her ability to form cognative thoughts and sentences. "Delorean." I nodded as it lowered to the rooftop and reengaged its wheels. Alphys placed her hands on her cheeks and gushed with excitement and glee followed by--as it was known in anime circles--a squee or two. "I'd say she just squeed her pants. And she's not wearing any." Violet grinned before being whapped. "Vi. We've talked about low-brow humor." "But that's only around Asriel, right?" "It extends to all the Monsters of the Underground. Whom you were not supposed to meet. Not under these conditions. And especially not as recklessly as you've done." Alphys, in the mean time un-pocketed a tuning fork and was checking the Flux Capacitor drive from the back. "I knew it...!" "Well, this is the THIRD time I've seen that happen." I crossed my arms. "Third?" "The second was your iteration from the previous timeline. The first was my mentor...rather his past self seeing his future creation. It's complicated." "Time-travel t-t-tends to be so in th-theory. N-not a lot of people can think fourth-dimensionally." "Heh." I mused. "So...this is...your way back?" "Yes. I'm afraid we must return home. But we'll be back again. We have to get to New Home before the other human does. Having gone after every recorded Boss Monster on record, Asgore is the last one on their hit list. And if what I've observed in other timelines holds true here...he's in no shape to even think about confronting the kid." "Not every boss monster. They haven't gone after Sans. They were the last one to face the kid before...the incident." Violet reminded. Made sense. Sans would be a lot harder target than King Fluffybuns. They were saving the bad time for the very end when they'd have to drop the fascade; whether or not Sans eliminated Paci-Frisk. Still...I was sure they were counting on the former case. The good one was in the evil one's way, after all. "S-S-Sans?" "You know him, don't you? The two of you have...past history. Am I correct?" I asked. Alphys kinda turned away. She wasn't so good at hiding the truth when confronted about it. But rather good at it when no one would think to ask the right questions. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. He'll just have to be someone to be handled carefully." "Alphys this entire incident is coming to a head at Castle Dreemurr. We have to be ready for them." "I don't think the evil child knows yet that we know about the good one. We can use this to our advantage." "But if the two of them meet, there's another danger..." "Yeah. That scenario has certainly played out in a lot of other situations." I rubbed my chin. "Alphys we're probably going to need to call on help on this one. I'm not sure how this is going to go down. But this may be our only chance to save Asgore and stop the other child." "What are you suggesting?" "I'm prepared to try the same thing we did in the last timeline." "G-Good idea!" Alphys beamed. Then... "....wh...what did we do?" Well. That was awkward. Bunnie placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's not rush into that too soon. We don't want to tip our hand should the other child be ready for our strategem." I nodded. "We'll get back to you on that, Alphys. For now, keep a close eye on all the major areas of the Underground. The gate to the RUINS, Snowdin Town, Waterfall, Hotland, the CORE, and New Home. If you see anything suspicious...well...it'll be a little hard getting a message to us. But...we'll find out somehow." "We have much planning to do." "Y-you've...helped me a lot...and...you saved Mettaton. I don't know how you managed to get him a new body, but--" "Time traveller secrets. I'll tell you some day. Just not while it's chaotic like this." "I guess...m-m-maybe it's time I s-started m-making things right." "That a girl, Alphys." Bunnie got into the Delorean on the passenger's side. "Don't look so smug, Vi." She frowned as Violet squeezed in and sat on Bunnie's lap. "Hey, it's cramped as heck in here. It's no picnic for me, either, best friend." Vi stuck her tongue out. But I had a feeling she was still getting some kind of enjoyment out of this. "It's either that or we cram you back in the trunk you little stow-away." I scolded as I got in the driver's side seat. "Alphys, there's a DATA SAVE marker beacon on this rooftop, now. It'll be our point of return the next time we come to the Underground." "Volt...I...I can't thank you enough." "You already did. Anyway...about--" "We'll...t-talk about it another time. We...we both have secrets we're not ready to tell about. I'm...just too much of a coward to face the consequence of mine." "And I'm playing the waiting game until the time is right for me to reveal mine. Anyway...get ready for a mind-blow." I closed the door with that mechanical whirl and set the return coordinates on the Time Circuits and the Dimensional Axis Rig. The car hovered up, ascended to a height. I backed up enough to get enough flying room to get us up to 88MPH. And sure enough, we left fire cloud trails in the sky as we vanished from sight. "OH. MY. GOD." Alphys just stood in awe, jaw hanging open. "Th-th-that was s-so c-cool! Th-this might b-b-be the best thing t-to happen to me in...s-s-so long. P-please let th-th-this be a well-spring of h-hope. I-c-can't take another d-disappointment. I c-c-can't let anyone else d-down. She looked at where we had disappeared. Once back on VGM-098... "We're back and just past the border of Augustgrad. Headed back to Miranda." I watched as the landscape changed from arid desert to greener life and then the semblance of civilization. Miranda City would be up ahead. "Sooo...you probably don't want us parading our souverniers around town--" "That goes without saying, Vi." I growled. "But Mettaton wasn't even around when the kid was scampering around the Underground. I'm absolutely sure he wouldn't figure--" "No means no, Vi." I laid down the law. "That's a direct order." "We are going to have much to discuss." I nodded. We eventually got to the city border, having landed and taken the route back to H.Q. We parked in the vehicle bay where Gadget and the others were standing by to service and clean up the time vehicle. After confiscating everything of Violet's that was even remotely suspicious...after Bunnie and Callista both made sure she was clean and willing to swear to secrecy on everything we listed on the checklist...we all went our separate ways. I know the log entry says regrouping but...frankly we'd been together long enough during the last part of this. After being crammed in the Delorean? Yeah. We'd convene on this another time. Sub-Entry 103: "Rotor's Theory": I decided I needed time to muddle over everything; especially come up with ideas how there could possibly be two Frisks. I promised Asriel we'd catch up later, after I had a chance to decompress. I assured him I was okay after my latest time travel mission. The Major of course had her explainations. And Vi? Vi weaseled out of any questions or suspicioun in her usual ways. Either way, it looked like my best friend wasn't going to suddenly change his stance on respecting the secrets I was still keeping. I honestly felt like he was prolonging his questions for my convinience. He was always thinking of my well-being. After how much things tore me up in the past...he would keep his curiosity at bay for as long as it took. I trudged through town. It was about that time I bumped into Rotor going on his lunch break from his day job. "Going my way? There's a place not far from here where the fried shrimp is amazing." I thought for a moment. "Sure. Why not." While werewolves prefered beef and chicken (self included), a bit of seafood seemed like just the thing right about now. "On the grounds you do not describe in detail any plumbing stories. I don't want to know what your rubber gloves were submerged in." Rotor actually laughed. Finally he was getting his sense of humor back after his family's escape from Vorostov all those years ago. "I don't swap stories about my work, especially when eating. And trust me. I've thoroughly washed up and disinfected. I may be a plumber but--" "Don't say it." "I don't like to give crap any more than I take it." He shrugged. "Ugh. I would have expected that from Violet. Or Sans." "Yeah...not really sure I know this Sans well enough from your stories to pass judgement but...comparing me to Vi? Yeah, I get the message. I'll stop." "So....your brother?" "Hanging out with Asriel." "Someone's gotta be his conscience?" "I'd say that's not fair...but I can't argue in the face of what's true." Rotor hopped in the plumbing van and offered me the passenger's side seat. "First class taxi service." I was in a bit of a joking mood myself. "No plumbing talk or questions about my hydrodynamics research at the lab or I'll have to charge you cab faire." I made a "zip-it" gesture across my lips. Sure enough we arrived at a place not much different than a Captain D's, Long John Silver's, or London Bobby on the various Earth AU's I had visited. At Rotor's recommendation, I got the shrimp platter. Boy oh boy did I get more than a fair share. This is going to reflect well on my online review. I guess on various Earths they called it "Yelp". Here it was one of Violet's silly apps. Besides being head of hardware development and Miranda Internet administrator, she also released tons of apps online. I advised my crew and Asriel, by extention, to be mindful what they download. Antoine ended up with a free trial of something that made him faint on the spot. Can you say "NSFW"? Sure you can. Liteheartedness asside, I felt like Rotor was a good third party to discuss things with. It wouldn't be too bogged down with Bunnie's spiritual wisdom, it wouldn't beat around the bush with round-about mind-screws from Violet, and it wouldn't be sugarcoated with the softening of the blows like Lupe was known for. And of course I wouldn't have to try to decipher Sally's slang. We got a table far in the back, pretty much away from anyone who'd overhear. "I've got a doozy this time, Rotor." "Doozy...in the sense that...?" "In the sense I'm dealing with a human in two places at the same time." "Ohhhh--" "Rotor, try to keep it grounded in reality. I know you make conspiracy theories a hobby and such and you have more stick-pin diagrams in your secret room than Webby Vanderquack and Billy Cranston put together." Glad Violet wasn't around to point out me ramming a Ducktales (2017) reference together with a Power Rangers (2017) reference. "Right. So...I guess genetic clones are out of the question." "Come on, Rotor. Some real theories?" "Well...the quantum mechanics of time travel and timelines is...still kinda abstract for a former assistant to the Ecotropian Minister of Science, who took a more applied and hands-on approach to science..." Rotor scratched a tusk. "But...have you considered that maybe when the reboot happened, your interference somehow caused a Pacifist Timeline and a Genocide Timeline to collide?" "The "game" as the weed puts it...is already broken enough as it is. Why not? I mean that's why they call these unstable timelines. Things happen to knock everything off kilter with some kind of weird twist. At least when the timeline is functional. You don't want to imagine a timeline where its inhabitants weren't fully formed. I swear, Toriel and Asgore were doing the scariest, most disturbing impression of Cow and Chicken's parents." Bit of a dated reference. But I could tell Rotor knew what I meant. A pair of legs disembodied from the waist up is not something you got out of your nightmares that easily. "It's just a theory, though. What if it's like an echo from the Genocide Run that was destroyed? Like that Frisk came back to finish what they started?" "A weird possibility that Madam Fate would certainly make possible if she felt like it. But what's the payoff? Me running around stopping them from accomplishing their murder spree? And for another thing, why spare the minor monsters and minibosses?" "Not a lot making sense. You're sure they're--" "She's not an android, Rotor." "Well...we do have quite a few realistic ones on our world and Rock's. This Dr. Alphys at least hs the capability of making one humanoid in appearance." "Mettaton? Yeah, but he's a special case. He's a "ghost-in-the-machine". Literally. There's only enough programming for a BIOS, motor controls, and a vocoder. An intelligence comes directly from Mettaton's ghost soul. Mettaton's just a possessed object. All the scans show that the other Frisk is human and alive. And there's no second soul or Wraith there." Rotor folded his arms while I took a moment to enjoy the shrimp. "Have you talked to Chara again about this?" "Just the first time when Frisk number 2 went nuts. I'm holding off on talking to her until we bring the evil one down. I really don't think she needs more bad news. She's having enough trouble making a life for herself in an afterlife populated entirely by human souls." "Entirely?" "Okay...I can see you talked to Bunnie. Sajin Komamura is an exception." I folded my arms. Rotor was one who sure didn't miss the details. "Anyway...when I know more I'll talk to her again." "So we know they're both Frisk. What about the LV?" "Both the same. One refuses to kill and one hasn't succeeded at killing so...neither have technically ganed LV. Sans doesn't care, though." After all this time, a good amount of the Underground had been shared with only my closest inner circle. Anyone who could keep a secret; especially from Asriel, was fair game. Violet took some strong-arming to keep quiet but even she couldn't let some...things sneak out in certain forms. "And the Wraith?" "I don't know how much to believe. It's hard to say if the're telling the truth or if they're a pathological liar." "Like that one guy you ran into off world. What was his name?" "Hisoka Morow. Magician. Serial Killer. Member of the Spiders. Lies just for the sake of lying. Hard to tell when he actually is telling the truth. And not one to turn your back on. Violet would absolutely, positively DESPISE him. I mean...he's a friggin' clown. Or jester. But, yeah. I get the same vibe, Rotor. Madam Fate crafted them well to tug on the marionette strings of anyone they feel inclined to manipulate. Whether directly or verbally." "So where does that leave you with Frisk?" "The one I actually talked to is definitely the real deal. As to which iteration? We may never figure that out. I can confirm there have been other Frisks; replaced as Destiny and Fate saw fit. What happened to them is anyone's guess. Either ceased to exist or their souls are out there somewhere. I just worry someone's using them for sinister purposes...or making them suffer. Or both." We both took a moment to eat and digest; both our food and our conversation. "What about this...nemesis of yours?" I folded my arms and folded my ears back. "He hasn't had the guts to show his face in the last five years. Even longer than that. He's not going to do so until he's run out of pawns to come up with "brilliant plans". Once all his chess pieces have stopped being amusing and their plans all blow up, I don't know...he may go into hiding again. It's hard to say with that maniac." "You know...you've never described him." "Consider that a blessing, Rotor. The less said..." Rotor seemed to accept that after looking me in the eyes for a bit...recognizing just how deep this ran...how personal it was...and likely how dangerous this line of thought potentially was. "Protecting all of you, especially Asriel, from him is a priority that goes beyond anything." "Back to Frisk, then." "Uniting the Boss Monsters worked so well the last time. I figure at least the presence of the other Boss Monsters; Toriel and Papyrus, especially, should keep Sans in check. Bunnie can probably reign in Undyne. Which leaves Alphys and Asgore." "Six Boss Monsters. But...you're leaving a couple out." "I haven't forgotten about Mettaton. In theory, where Alphys goes, he'll go, too. But Muffet isn't involved in this. Sub-Entry 104: "Old School Globetrotter Hijinx": Well. Time for some family time out. And this time courtessey of Uncle Ed Videomax and Aunt Ariel Rastajive. I had learned to be mindful when talking about Aunt Ari. Her name was one letter short of Asriel's so being careful not to confuse myself on paper or these research logs was a bit of a dance. Fitting way to describe it since nine times out of ten, when I walked in on her, she was dancing with maraccas in hand and wearing the bare minimum to not be considered indecent. Another case of someone who was underdressed, not to be lewd, but because they were either oblivious to it or not tied down by modesty and driven by a new-age hippie mentality I had yet to find a polite euphomism for. Like Violet's mother, Empress Frieda...yeah, she was a little hippy-dippy. I wasn't about to argue with A.X. Rastajive on the importance of keeping life a party. So we made a deal. She'd keep Arlene off my back about proper training and sports appreciation, and I'd agree to an outting of Ari's suggestion. The fact that Uncle Ed seemed to be on the same page as her gave me a familar vibe. Something I hadn't experienced since at least my childhood. Generally when it came to sports, there were very few things that even remotely sparked my interest. I was nerdy in many of the most stereotype of ways. Number one being avoiding sports and extracuricular activity. "I thought you didn't like sports, Volt." "I don't. But Ed and Ari insisted I check this out. Said it would bring back old memories of the 60's, 70's, and 80's." "Well, I can tell you'd put up with basketball a lot sooner than you would football." "Begrudgingly, yeah. I don't mind baseball. Soccer has a weird love-hate nostalgia to it...besides you like soccer so I can't detest it. And basketball is easy enough for me to understand so...y'know." "I can't really picture a sport that's hard to understand." "Jon ever show you the game, cricket?" "Comment withdrawn." Asriel waved me off. "You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket." I muffled a chuckle. I don't think Asriel was aware he had inadvertently dropped a movie quote. Asriel looked at the tickets. "Uh...I think Uncle Eddie is playing a joke on us. These tickets are dated for the 1970's--" I sighed. "No, there's no joke there. It's just Uncle Ed's subtle way of reminding me I'm a time-traveller." "So...we gotta go off world to another time period?" "In so many words--" "Pencil me in then!" Violet suddenly hopped up on my back, draping her arms around me and leaned on my shoulder with a silly mischievious grin." "I should have known. You supplied the coordinates for this, didn't you? Violet, by all accounts you should be grounded from active duty after...recent developments." "But this isn't a mission, is it?" "..." I've really gotta stop walking into Violet outsmarting me. *ahem* "Oh. Uh...hey, Buns. How long have you been--" Bunnie's hand siezed around Violet's ears. "If you even think of attending, I will be your chapperone." "Oh boy." "But sensei. Aunt Violet. How will you--" Bunnie anime quick changed while unfolding and scripting with the Shodouphone in one fluid motion. In seconds she was in casuals and in a human disguise. "Hmm. Pig-tails. They're you, Bunnie." I mused, admiring the trailing, Sailor Moon lengths of hair. Bunnie smirked. "Showoff. Watch a pro." Violet clicked on her CyberDrive Gauntlet and the holo-shudders opened. Wire-frame overlapped over Vi's form before reshaping around her and solidifying into a digital, hard-light construct around her. A very red-haired human guise. "Umm. Compensating for something, Vi?" I frowned at the...ahem...liberties Vi had taken on this human form. "Well since Elektra and Velaska won't okay that special kind of plastic surgery--" "Aunt Vi! Don't be lewd!" Asriel wrapped his floppy ears around his blushing face. Bunnied thwapped Vi over the head. "I guess the four of us are off." I said as I demorphed and Asriel shoved the plunger down on the Unitrix Core. "Somehow these coordinates don't seem like any Earth AU I'm familiar with." "Trust me." Vi winked as the gateway opened and we went through. As soon as we were out of the gateway... "Yup. Definitely an unrecorded Terran AU with a composite timeline." I examined the backdoor readouts I was getting from A.E.O.N. I'd have a heck of a time explaining the the council why my research lead me here. "These tickets are valid, right, Vi?" Bunnie narrowed her eyes. "Don't ya trust me, Buns?" "About as far as Antoine could kick you." "Ouch." Vi wrinkled her nose. "Come on, Aunt Vi. Sensei. We're here to have a good time. Watch some basketball, enjoy some hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks. Let's not argue." My best friend, the mediator. I'm so proud of him. We merged with the ground and presented our tickets...which per promptly accepted. "Huh." "I won't say I told you so..." Vi griiiiiined. "Buuuuut--" "Then DON'T." Bunnie warned. We took our seats. They were good seats and close to the action. "The Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals." Asriel read his program. I had a look at the roster. There was...something familiar about all this. I mean...granted my era started in the 70's according to temporal equivalency, using VGM-098 as a base. But would I have even been old enough to remember this decade? Come to think of it...had I ever really made an effort to visit this decade in previous time travel missions? Sure'd I'd been all over the time stream and all over space and dimension...but when I stopped to think...I noticed a pattern of a lot of my assignments being kept to mostly the current three decades. Elder STC Agents like Dr. Nicodimus were assigned to older time periods. You'd think as the Founder I'd have a wider amount of experience over recorded history. "Vi? Why are you wearing a look like the cat that ate the canary? And...why do you have multiple roster printouts in your hand..." I read through them and noticed that the program had players from multiple eras stretching back further than 1979. Some nipping into the 60's. Heck. I think a couple were dated into the 1950's. "By any chance...this wouldn't happen to be an all-star team?" "Well..." "I knew it. This is a temporal nexus world." "Temporal nexus world?" Asriel asked. "Imagine if Adam West era Batman teamed up with Michael Keaton era Batman, and Ben Aflec era Batman." Violet explained. "Ohhhh...I get it." Asriel rubbed his chin. Violet grinned then began whistling "Sweet Georgia Brown"--the official theme song of the Globetrotters. Asriel begin to join in once Vi had looped it a couple times. The game began to start as the teams head out out to the court. As the Globetrotters all lined up, I noticed some confusion among the fans in the audience. This immediately turned to laughter as soon as the second to the last player yanked a fake afro wig off the last one in line who freaked out, grabbing his bald head. "Heheheheh. Classic Curly." Violet mused as I recognized him in the program as number 22, Fred 'Curly' Neal. "Uh...is that supposed to happen?" Asriel raised an eyebrow. Violet zeroed in on a few of her other favorites. Number 13, the legendary Wilt 'The Stilt' Chamberlain. Number 36, George 'Meadowlark' Lemon. Number 35, Hubert "Geese" Ausbie just to name a couple. "...and there's Nate Branch. And James 'Twiggy' Sanders. And Louis 'Sweet Lou' Dunbar..." Yup. Violet, Ed, and Ari definitely collaborated on this one. And that was just the start as it cascaded into a parade of showmanship. I think it was the first time Asriel had ever seen anyone spin a basketball on their finger and perform trick shots and comedic antics like that before. "Wait...can he use a ladder on the basketball court?" Bunnie had long caught on this was less a basketball competition and more of a show. Well...we were all certainly entertained. "How'd they get a forklift onto the court?" Admittedly, even I was a bit stunned by the things they were pulling off. From impossible trick shots, to juggling multiple basketballs, to just clowning around. "Roller skates?" "I was not expecting them to combine sports." Bunnie raised an eyebrow at the use of a tennis racket. "Well...we got a trampoline on the court. Of course we got a trampoline on the court." It even became clear that the referees were in on it when during the course of the game, one was tripped, another had his pants pulled down and another was tickled with a taunt of "cootchie-cootchie-coo!" multiple times before yelling out. "No more gootchie-gootchie-goo!" At some point even Bunnie cracked a smile. By the time the game was over and the Globetrotters had made fools of the Washington Generals, scoring an impossible 304 to 102. "That...that was certianly something, Aunt Vi." Asriel rubbed the back of his head. But I could tell he enjoyed it. I think we all did. But of course Violet wouldn't just leave it at a good time out. She just had to have a meet and greet. There was some hand shaking and autographs and such. But I should have seen it coming when Violet suddenly said. "So....undertaken any 'super' globetrotting adventures lately?" There was some looks back and forth exchanged before Nate assured that he didn't know what Violet was talking about. As they were headed out to the locker room, Violet suddenly hollered out in a gravelly robotic voice sounding like a chainsmoking Popeye: "OOOGA! OOOGA! NOW DIG THIS!" At that moment Nate, Twiggy, Meadowlark, Curly, and Sweet Lou whirled around. "Listen up, that's the Crime Globe--" "Gotcha." Violet pointed with finger guns. I facepalmed. "Darn it, Violet..." "Let's uh...just keep this on the down-low, little lady?" After agreeing to a demonstration of Sweet Lou's special locker locket, once it was just the nine of us left on the empty court and the arena had emptied out completely the five average Globetrotters made their transformation into the Super Globetrotters--secret super-powered crime fighters at the call of the eye in the sky, the Crime Globe. Thus we got a rare look at Nate Branch AKA Liquid Man, Freddy 'Curly' Neal AKA Super Sphere, James 'Twiggy' Sanders AKA Spaghetti Man, Louis 'Sweet Lou' Dunbar AKA Gizmo Man, and Hubert 'Geese' Ausbie AKA Multi Man. "...cross my heart and hope to die." Asriel was the first to make the pledge not to reveal their secret. Violet of course was the last to do so after some arm twisting by Bunnie. "Sooo....you gonna tell us about the times you hung out with Mystery Inc.?" Violet grinned. "I think we've bothered them enough for one day, Vi." "Aww come on. Scooby-Doo x The Globetrotters. Classic." Violet chuckled. "How old ARE you, anyway?" I raised an eyebrow at Vi dropping some seriously dated references. "Not every day you get to meet superheroes hiding in plain sight." "Just wait until I take you to Static Shock's world and introduce "Pointman"--" Violet started before Bunnie and I each grabbed an ear. "Oww, oww, owww! Okay, maybe next time!" "Sorry, Vi, but it looks like that's one too many personal fouls. You just got...bounced from the game." Azzy said with a wink. "Nice." I shared a fist bump. Sub-Entry 105: "The Return of Team Acorn": "Azzy? Uh...what are you doing?" I watched Goat Son stretch out on the roll-up mat. "I saw this thing on the internet about "Goat Yoga" so I thought I'd give it a try." Oh my gods. Even as a teenager, this was just too precious. How does he still manage to be cute at this age? "Asriel, that's not exactly..." I started. I wanted to explain that in goat yoga, people let real baby goats climb over and around them while they're performing their yoga routines. Apparently it's therapeutic. But this...? "Yeah?" ".......nevermind. Go to town, dude." No way I'm spoiling this moment. Yoga was one activity I'd never studied into. Chances are if anyone knew about it, it would be Bunnie. What little I knew about it...didn't exactly come from a reliable source. ~~~~~ "...and then you take a deep breath and cry out YOGA FLAAAAME!" "Violet, not that I doubt your word but........who am I kidding, I doubt your word." "And then you jump into the air and sail down at an angle like a slow-moving missile..." "Viiiiiii..." I complained as I started to walk off. "Wait! I haven't even gotten to teleporting, yet!" "Keep talking and I just might meditate then destroy you..." I grumbled. At least I got her to take of the necklace of skulls and put on something decent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Asriel wrapped up before long "Mmmnnn! That was invigorating. I don't know why more people don't try this." "One of life's mysteries, goat son." I shrugged. "So uh...what have you been up to lately. With me back on the job, it's harder to keep up with things and all. Yeah, I know we spent some time together, recently, but..." "You mean while you're away, right? Well. Not a lot has been happening. Violet's trying to get me into online gaming. It's...alright I guess." "I sense more coming." "Well, she suggested I start a streaming channel. But...I don't think I'd be into that. I'd get all nervous being live-broadcast in front of millions of gamers. I'd feel on the spot, you know?" What Asriel was describing felt like something I'd discovered in one of the AU's I'd been researching. ADC-023, I think? That was "Bottles' Territory" if memory served. "She's...not trying to get you to go by the gamer tag, "Absolute God of Hyperdeath", is she?" ".......to be honest...I forgot all about that until you just now brought it up." Asriel scratched his head, around one of his horns. "Sorry. I...shouldn't have--" "No, it's okay. It was...just a piece of the past. Something Chara had come up with. When I thought about it for a while, I found myself asking...how exactly was a God of Hyperdeath supposed to free people if...well...he brings about hyper-death? If...that's even a thing. I mean regular death is...scary and causes a lot of grief and sadness on its own. I can only image what hyper-death would do. It sounds like such a kiddie description for genocide." That made me shudder. "Yeah...I get you. It's normal to look back on the past and ask yourself...'what was I thinking'?" I looked around outside the window and sighed. "That season again." Asriel observed. Then he pat me on the shoulder. "It's only temporary. Spring will be back before you know it. But...you know what the winter season also means?" "Hmm?" I had forgotten all about it, even though it was a yearly thing. That was when my ear twitched in the direction I heard it...maybe I even sensed it a little. "Huh?" I squinted out and looked off into the horizon. "What's...that...?" Even with werewolf sight, it had its limits to how far it extended. Asriel and I stepped outside the shop got a closer look. Snow had been falling for a bit now and the streets and all were pretty covered. Despite Asriel being in his bare feet, having left his sandals inside, he didn't seem bothered. I on the other hand suffered. "Ugh..." I shuddered before refocusing what drew my attention. "Is...that some kind of avalanche coming our way?" Asriel saw it too. "Avalanches roll down inclines not several miles across flat ground. They stop once they get to level surface and clump into a huge snowdrift. That looks more like...some kind of snow and ice wave?" By now people were getting off the streets and going indoors. "What's that in front?" "That looks like..." "HEEEEY YOOOOU GUUUUUUYS!" I heard the unmistakable cry of Honey "Flametrail" Cat. "Did she just make an Electric Company reference--" I started before it hit me. "Holy schnikees! Team Acorn is back in town!" Sure enough, Sally, Honey, and Willie's tail wind was dragging the mother of all snow drifts into a sizeable tidal wave. As it rolled behind them, their slipstream around their light contrails managed to plow the streets; dividing and scattering the snow to the left and the right in a constant V-wave flurry. "Incomming!!!" I grabbed Asriel and hurtled inside and shut the door before Team Acorn skidded to a stop, thanks to the spiked cleat modifications on the bottom of their Overdrive Sandals. The wave of snow splashed around them and sizzled away from their glowing thermal auras and the energy dissipated from the Bio-field Morphing Grid. But for everything else in the path of the snow? *SPLAT* "Sally? That you guys out there?" I managed to say after picking myself up off the floor and getting my bearings. I looked at how the snow had covered up the door and windows, sealing us in. I heard her muffled voice on the other side. "What? I can't make that out. Can you do something about--" That was when the snow started melting away and I could start to make out the forms of the trio, decked out in the "SJW-Kappa" Mode Tengu Suits. With combinations of Flamethrower Torches and Lava Sabres in hand, the path was opened back up. The doorbell chimed as Sally opened the doorway. "Mind if we come in?" "By all means. But next time you want to drop by...send a telegram, first." "Sure thing, Boss Man." Honey gave a thumbs up. Then she turned to Willie. "What's a telegram?" Willie shrugged. "I think...it's like a written message from back in the days of using...paper?" Sally cocked her head. "Paper? What a retro concept!" Willie mused. "Sounds polluted to me. Wasteful resources dumping being used for wasteful things. You'd think nobody heard of holograms." Asriel and I looked at each other and shrugged. Then Goat Son got eccstatic. "Aunt Sally!!!" He tacklehugged her. "I'm so glad to see you again!" "Easy there. Live in the chill my crash dash smash flash!" Oh brother. Technopolis-speak evolved again in five years. "Sally! Check it!" Asriel got out his driver's license. "Sha-BLAM!" "Oh that is beyond molten!" Honey beamed. "You're riding the wind now, little man." Willie acknowledged. "I knew you could do it." Sally shared a fist-bump. "Enough about me. How bout you three? How did the finals go?" And with that a crystal-and EMF-wave comprised trophy even bigger than the last four I had seen from Team Acorn was presented by the trio. "You girls are unstoppable! Much respect." "Congratulations, ladies. You earned it." I nodded. "Well, now that we're off our day job and back on full-time duty. Got any work lined up for us?" "Well not right now, but I have heard rumors that Mainland has been reaching out to Red, Scott, and the VARS sisters over some matter. There were rumors of splinter-beasts involved as well as a possible VARS cyborg sighting. "Another one? Family's growing larger, it would seem." Asriel rubbed his chin. "Don't give your hopes up, Azzy. It could be another malfunctioning one or another recommissioned by the remnants of DC or NS." "I hate those guys." Willie folded her arms. "Join the club." I wrinkled my snoot. "One trying to exterminate non-humans, the other trying to enslave humans. Both factions have fractured into countless splinter cells under conflicting leadership roles and broken chains of command, who can say how the manage to still cause trouble." "Without Tal to lead DC and Regina Destrali to lead NS, I don't think they'll ever be the threats they once were." Sally reasoned, putting her hands on her hips. "You can never be too careful." Asriel looked solemn. "If we need to dig the Solaris or the Golden Condor out, they're at your disposal." "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Goat Son. And really. Let's steer the conversation away from this to something more pleasant, 'kay?" "Deal." "So...you girls know anything about basketball?" Asriel said, releasing the ball signed by the Globetrotters from his ITEM storage. All three girls looked at each other with sly grins. "Who wants to take the secret tunnel from here to Rabbotou Dojo and head to the gyms?" I said as I lead on to the hatch in the back room. Granted, I had no interest in participating but every two on two basketball game needs a spectator, right? "This beats trudging through the snow!" "By the way...you think we should check on the town ouside? We did cause a pretty sizeable snowdrift out there, coming into town and mach speed." "Naaaah. I'm sure everyone had the common sense to go indoors." Meanwhile in the snowpack outside... "Gahh!" Al Dente emerged, up to his ears in snow. Literally. A moment later, Antoine burst out of the snow, up to his chin. "YOU?!?" Both hollered at each other when their eyes met. Both struggled to get free to attempt to get into another argument and hilarious attempt at fisticuffs. After a while they ended up tiring out and actually falling asleep. "Now there are two blokes who know how to enjoy this season!" Jon admired as he walked past, wearing just long pants, hands in his pockets. He wagged his tail. "I am so jealous of you two right now." Oh boy. Sub-Entry 106: "...What Do You Mean We're Not the REAL Ghostbusters?": ...okay, I'm going to stop trusting equipment donated to me by my STC transport technicians. This is SO not the dimension I was aiming for. "It's definitely the 1980's, Azzy." I emerged in my human form. "Definitely New York...ish?" He shrugged, having used the Unitrix function ahead of time to come out in his own human disguise. "But this is not the world of my Mentors." I frowned. "I knew I should have asked Rotor to hurry up on Ecto 1A's maintenance. We'll have to make do with the bare essentials." "So...where do you think we are?" "Well. We're still in the UltraVerse. Just not coordinates readily recognized." I had intended on checking in with my mentors, but complications had forced me to rely on surplus regulation tech from the STC Agency. Tech that I should have know better than to trust those wet-behind-the-ears undergrounds running our transport to callibrate. Instead we had arrived on some parallel Earth AU. "At least it's not winter around here." I looked around. "Let's see if we can get our bearings and get some info on this place. It'll be a lot slower since the internet doesn't exist." "It exists...just not commercially available to the public and in very, very low capacity. If anything just the very first proto emails exist and only to research facilities and huge corporations, I'd wager. And by means of those phone cradles like you saw in the X-Vault years ago." "Oh right. The Weird Sciene thing." We blended into the crowd or tried to. Never let it be said that it was easy to not appear as tourists in New York. Quite frankly...yeah. Even as humans we stuck out a bit. But I guess it didn't matter. Everyone was caught up in their own rat race, so to speak. It was at least good to not be stared at or be made a spectacle of. Oh well. Some time later... "No luck?" I asked as Azzy and I split up and then joined up again later. "Not really. I saw a place that looked like a museum with a flashing neon sign out front. At first I thought I was imagining it but the I saw this..." Asriel stealthfully showed his cel phone's screen which he had snapped a picture of. The sign featured an insignea of a gold ring with what appeared to be the happiest-looking white-sheet ghost I had ever seen. It's sheet at the bottom stretched into a white circle around it like a second white ring. "This has to be a mistake." I raised an eyebrow. "Ghostbusters?" "This isn't right." Asriel scratched his head. I sighed. This was the beginning of things to explain. But it seems that an AU had dropped into our lap...or we rather we were dropped into the AU's lap. "It must be some kind of alternate universe or parallel world." I studied the photo careully. It did look like a haunted house or museum. Nestled between two immese skyscrapers that resembled the World Trade Towers. Two or three story building--beige and orange with bluish-lavender rooftops-- with a wing of rooms extending out from the main building behind the garage on the right. Long staircase to the front door. A lone tree to the left in the front yard. But what drew my attention was that there were no less than three arrow signs pointing toward the front door, side door, and balcony window mounted around the house. Each one was lit up with neon lights and bulbs. "You'd think someone had a very hard time finding an entrance on this place." Asriel scratched his head. "Very weird." I shook my head. "Should we check it out?" "Maybe later." I shrugged. "I'll probably get reprimanded by STC for authorized exploration without following procedure. Besides, if this is an AU, it's not good practice to explore it without a Hazard Card installed." "Right. So we don't interfere with the timeline...thing." Asriel was starting to catch on. How long would it be before the thought of multiple timelines in the same place crossed his mind? As smart as Asriel was...could I chalk it up to Lady Destiny being the reason he didn't connect the dots yet? For a while we kept a low profile, searching and scanning when eyes weren't on us. Searching and scanning for a way off this world and back home. For some reason I wasn't getting through to KOMMAND or STC Headquarters. By the time we got to Central Park, it was already night. And mysteriously creepy. "We may be here for a while." "It's not like this is the first time we've been stranded before, Volt." "I know...I just feel bad when I drag--" "No. Let's not start feeling guilty, Volt. I'm not my own man yet, but I'm not a shrinking violet. You don't have to feel bad about getting me involved in things and landing us in trouble. It goes with the job. We just have to be more careful next time we go exploring." "Yeah...you're right. I mean...so far nothing bad has--" That was when the sky clouded up and the clouds began to swirl. "Really. A sudden storm?" I was joking but the hairs on my neck were standing straight up. "Volt...does this seem supernatural to you?" Asriel wasn't panicking but there was a tinge of nervousness in his voice. I got out the P.K.E. meter and checked. "Oh yeah. We got a biiig valence incoming." And that was when the lightning and the explosions began. And from the epicenter of it emerged... "NNYAAAAAGGGGH!!!!" I almost wished it WERE Undyne using that grumpy snarl. We weren't that lucky. "Oh crap." My ears dropped as I laid eyes on the most villainous looking apparition I'd seen in a while. Looking like a skeleton with mechanical jaws and an iron mask over most of his face, metal gauntlets on his bony hands, and black eyes with beady white dots for pupils in their murkiness, this dude reeked of evil...like...prime evil. He was cloaked in a layered red cloak with a pointed collar that extended over his skull. Each layer of the cloak was a different shade of blood red. I saw no visible feet or anything protruding underneath his hovering form. To add to that he was seated at the most evil-looking floating pipe-organ I'd ever seen. The main body looked to be made of bone but stretched into the shape of a cross between a stingray and some kind of spacecraft. Domed windows or monitors were on each "wing". The organ itself wrapped around him in a circular arc with no less than three levels of keyboards, hundreds of switches resembling moaning faces and a main giant round computer monitor in almost a skull shape, protruding from where the stingray frame enclosed the main organ body. In fact it almost liked like an ant-skull with oversized manidbles wrapping around the wall of switchbanks above the uppermost arc of keyboards. But what really got my attention was the thousands...if not MILLIONS of pipes, bones, and tusks pouring out of the machine in a rising tower. The way that the stingray wings and skull monitor wrapped around the front of this collective monstrosity...it just gave me chills. "Again I find myself in this infernal...kssshtt...time period of the gynaaaagh....nineteen-eighties!" Okay the really aggressive, roaring voice was not doing anything for me. But the sudden straining grunts and what I thought was an imitation of TV or walkie-talkie static was taking the scare edge off. Was this thing supposed to be some kind of...cyborg phantom? "Who are you?" Asriel challenged, eyes lit up with orange, actually managing to peek out of his human disguise. "You DARE address me, mortal? Learn your place before the all-powerful Primevil!" Huh. His name really WAS Primevil. "What do you want?" I decided to draw off of Asriel's bravery. "I have traveled back 100 years from the future to get my revenge and finish what I started with the GYNAAAAAAGH-GHOSTBUSTERS!" Okay, he was definitely not talking about my mentors. But there were Ghostbusters on this world. I knew it couldn't be Dr. Gilbert's and Dr. Yates' brainchild. It existed clearly in 2016. "What do you mean?" Asriel's eyes turned to yellow. He was feeling heroic. "Those fools thought they could seal me away a second time after saving their fathers and defeating my...KSSSHT...army of ghosts! But fortune smiled upon me as I was released again in the distant future!" "Who'd be stupid enough to release him from confinement?" "...I could think of someone." I narrowed my eyes feeling that familiar vibe in my spine again. "Whatever evil plan is, we're not going to let you get away with it." "Allies of the GNNNNYGHHH...GHOSTBUSTERS...must be met with a swift revenge! With the power of my "Bone-troller" I trap you into the world of a hundred years hence!" That was when Primeevil slammed his bony fingers down on the keyboard and assaulted our ears with the most terrifying pipe organ wail of sounds. As he did the keys lit up with an unholy light I couldn't describe. The park started getting incredibly foggest and the fog began to swirl around us... "Volt? Something's happening! I feel something pulling--" That was all Asriel got out before something sucked us up into a portal in the blackening, storm-filled sky. When we could see again, the world around us had changed...to desolate, ruined, and very dark. Asriel and I both laid eyes on the terrifying structure before us. Dark, black and forboding. I described it as a mansion that was surprisingly rounded off in shape. It looked kinda like a black bullet train crossed with a fly's head on each side--orange windows covering the "eyes" that stretched very far back until it reached the middle of the mansion, each set of window divided by a thinn strip. Rising from the center of the building were a pair of giant clocktower looking like sinister versions of Big Ben. A constant thunderstorm brewed around the whole thing, barely lighting up the black and orange behemoth. "Recoil in horror of the magnificence of my "Haunt-quarters!" I heard Primevil bellow. "Also known as your final resting place! GYAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!" The next thing I heard was the overlapping chords of the Bone-troller pipe organ. Then the next thing Asriel and I knew were were inside the mysterious Haunt-quarters. "Well. This is a fine mess we got ourselves into." I rolled my eyes. "I'd say we can take this guy but we don't know what other kind of powers he has. We need to come up with a plan and fast." "Now, my unsuspecting mortals! You will join my other captives!" That was when I noticed Primevil and something floating next to him...obviously a minion pet. It was probably the ugliest, most disgusting one I'd seen in a while. Its weasely, hiena laugh wasn't making things much better nor was its uneven bulging eyes. Looking like a purple furred rat with a tuft of red hair , ugly fangs, oversized furry elephant ears, and a deathly grey body that was a cross between a lizard and a slug...I couldn't take my eyes off the trio of gas and slime spewers lining his back. "Eww." Primeevil again pounded a chord on the Bone-troller and a holographic image projected from the main monitor, showing a deep dark dungeon. Chained up were two humans and a gorilla in pink backpack and an Indianna Jones hat. "You kidnapped two humans and a Donkey Kong lookalike?" Asriel lowered an eyebrow. "What? You are not friends of the Ghostbusters?" "Never seen them before in my life." "How unfortunate. Unfortunate for you." "Wait... even though we had nothing to do with this, you're gonna......yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised." I crossed my arms. "Typical villain jerks." "Psst. Volt. I have a plan. I've been watching Primevil play that organ and I think I'm starting to figure out how he operates it. If you can cause a distraction I think I can get us out of this mess." "But what about his prisoners?" "We'll come back for them one we have a plan and maybe once we can find help. Primevil said something about their fathers. I'll be they're back in the 1980's somewhere." "Good plan. Guess we're doing this. I trust you, Azzy. Make it happen." I faced Primevil. "Hey! Tin-grin!" "You DARE address me in such a...KSSSSHT...fashion?! Primevil's entire head literally turned red with anger. Seriously. What kind of cartoon villain was this? "Ooooh! You're in trouble now!" The pet, apparently named "Bratarat" cackled. "Why don't you show me how tough you really are?" I put up my dukes. This was a really stupid idea. But if I knew cartoon villains, they'd fall for this hook, line, and sinker. "Challenging my power was a big GNNNYAAAAAAGHH MISTAKE!" Okay the number of times he went "Nyggggh" was too coincidental. When it reminded me of Undyne this much I began to suspect another Umbilical Chord Theory (UCT) incident. I made a "come at me, bro" gesture with both hands. And I lived to regret it. I was dodging evil energy bolts before I had time to breathe. "Nyah-nyah! You can't hit me!" Childish behavior. Definitely the way to cheese off your enemy. And a cheesed off enemy was a distracted enemy. While I was earning the ire of Primevil... "Let's see..." Asriel looked over the hugely complicated sets of keyboards and switches. "If I remember the harmonies and the sequence he pressed them in...apply some of Aunt Vi's algebra and calculus...uhh...the right combination should be something like..." Asriel pressed the keys down in sequence. A blast shot out of the monitor and shattered one of the windows. "Uh...oops." Primevil whirled at that. "YOU FILTHY CREATURE! GET AWAY FROM MY BONE-TROLLER!" "Hey! Eyes over here, ugly!" I grabbed a loose brick from the wall and tossed it, just grazing Primevil but knocking Bratarat off his perch. "I've almost got it." Asriel fiddled around with more chords while I was on the run. "Alright we're out of here!" He smashed down on the keys, actually knocking several of them out of place. Quickly he and I were wrapped up in spooky fog and pulled into a portal. We could both hear Primevil's scream from the other side. "Bratarat! Get the others in here, NNNNNYOOOOOOOOOOOOOWW!!!!" A scared shriek ensued as Bratarat flew down the hallway, ducking evil bolts. Meanwhile, we dropped out of the portal onto the front lawn of. "...this place...?" "The one in the photo?" "I guess we should start here." The two of us stood up and looked up at the doorway. Sub-Entry 107: "Putting the Kabosh on Primevil": Back in the future... "KSSSSHT! I took great pains bringing the lot of you back. I want to make sure that my ranks are complete. Now begin the roll-call." The first one stepped forward. An ugly, shaggy, hulking fur beast looking like someone fed Brak from Space Ghost a pharmacy worth of steroids and stuffed him in an even uglier sleeveless, green onesie with a blue belt and matching blue chainmail visible under it. Unattractive unibrow. Underslug jaw with the fangs just sticking straight up. Very little semblance to a muzzle if any. The ears pointed outward instead of up. Ugly black claws. He was wearing the biggest oversized gym sneakers that had to exist. And yet it looked like his toes were still on the verge of bursting out of them. Yup. Werewolf feet don't like confinement. Also...since WHEN do werewolves count as ghosts? "Fangster, Werewolf of the Future!" That voice. Easily dumber than he looked. If this guy was a werewolf, I was a monkey's uncle. And really...why was he pronouncing it "Wee-yurr-wulf?" This was like a throwback to the tomato/to-mah-to dilmea from the Power Team era. He was definitely a brute. That's all you neede to know. Honestly...Fangster was an insult to werewolves everywhere. Mental note to self...don't let Jon meet him or the rants would never stop. Even I was a offended and I had a sense of humor when it came to old werewolf movies that usually ticked Jon off to no end. "Mysteria, darling. Mistress of Mist." It was like someone made a bad cartoon version of Gozer the Gozerian and covered her up in the most generic of witch's purple shawl. Pale white complexion, yellow sunken-in eyes, purple lipstick, deceptively softspoken, and...for some reason her long mullet hair was styled into a flat-top. The billowing sleeves of her outfit seemed almost diliberately shredded. True to her name it was as though a cloud of mist had gained a mind of its own and wrapped around her in an animated fashion. And really...she just REEKED...and I mean REEKED of absolute narcissim. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a mirror obsession. The next lug in line was an old man with lavender flesh, a hole where his nose should have been, and a white beard and moustache and a white mullet. He was wearing a metal helmet with weird earports on the sides and what looked like an air conditioner fan vent on top. A purple headband was just barely visible on his brow under the helmet. He was stuffed into an orange and mauve hybridization of a space suit and a scuba suit. HIs left hand was a metal hook. "Long John Scarechrome. Sailor of the Seven Galaxies." Sailor? Pirate by any other name. Had a yo-ho-ho pirate's voice...for lack of better description. I think this guy was one step above zombie. This was a dude that made you want to stay away from pirate ships. "SIr Trance-a-lot! A Bad Knight.....to one and alllll..." Came the sneer of the wirey skeleton figure next in line. The voice that sounded like a raspy gas leak. Definitely a knight but armored? Not so much. Definitely looked out of a renaissance fair, dressed in purple body suit, mostly covered up by lavender poofy torso gear with ringed shoulders. Pale fuschia cornflower gloves that matched his helmet. A belt with red orbs wrapped around his impossibly thin waist. While he had very little armor to speak of he was still wearing what looked like a metal hard hat with three pronged spikes curling out from it. It covered the red baclava that wrapped around everything but his face. But his face...that underslug jaw was impossibly large even for a fleshless skeleton figure. Green eyes. Huge handlebar moustache and a gotee. In his right hand he carried his so-called, "Trance Lance". The gas it spewed could put anyone into a hypnotic trance. Appearing out of nowhere, the chalk-white fleshed, grey-and-white big-haired form of the next spirit in question made her presence. "Ohh. Apparitia. Spell sorceress supreme." With a voice sounding like Zsa-Zsa or Eva Gabore from the 60's, she could easily out-snooty Mettaton when it came to pitting stuck-up against stuck-up. A red dress and heels that barely covered anything. Her hair stretched down to her ankles. Overuse of eyeshadow, and yet another ghoul with sickly yellow eyes. Like ALL yellow, not just mere eye color. Her spells were the real deal though. "I say...I'm the Haunter. Civilized Hunter of Haunted Pway." Wait. Did he say "pway"? Oh god...an Elmer Fudd English accent. The Haunter, in all of his grossly offensive stereotype of Englishmen, removed his monicle as he identified himself. Lavender-grey complection, dressed in olive green safari attire with a yellow ascot and a white bwana hat. The kind you'd expect of an English gentleman going on Safari. Orange handlebar walrus moustache even bigger than Hulk Hogan's. A stretched out head like a grape or raisin with a bulbous nose. And yes...really bad teeth. "Floatzart! Musical Maestro of Fright!" Short, German, and angry-looking, dressed in formal music conductor's attire with spats, bowtie, and tails. Cornflower blue complexion, wild Einstein-ish orange hair, oversized moustache, the Devil's eyebrows which reached up to his hairline, and ugh...yup. Yellow eyes. In hand was a conductor's baton. As he waved it, translucent spirits orbited around him in perfect synchronicity and rhythm. And last but CERTAINLY least... Nervously biting his finger with his other arm behind his back like a scared child, the jittery yellow and orange metal form of a robotic skeleton with mauve eyes stuttered and stammered. "Ah! Um. *clears throat* I'm Scared Stiff! R-R-Robot Ghost!" He saluted...but ended up knocking his own skull off of his neck. His headless body bent over to try to find his fallen head. Oh god. Don't let Mettaton meet htis guy. Or Papyrus. Scared Stiff was just plain sad. And really. Robot Ghost? How did that even work? There was nothing ghost like about him and robot...was a stretch. Every evil team has to have its pathic, whiney joke member. "Be ready to mobilize. For tonight we take the 1980's by storm!" Haunt-quarters was suddenly lit up by the flash of lightning before the booms of thunder sounded a moment or two later. Back in the 1980's. "I hate to B & E, Azzy, but..." I dug out the Key-Whiz I was reparing for Sally. "Uh...Volt?" Asriel pushed the door open. It wasn't even latched shut. "Oh. Um...walk-in appointment it is I guess." "Umm...Hello? Anyone home?" Asriel called out. "Whoah...look at this place..." "Jeeze. It's a haunted house on the outside and the inside." I noted the decor. Mostly it looked like an ordinary office. It called to mind the kind of place you'd find a detective agency in. But a few things stood out. A television...made of bone...no..more like a made of a skull with a screen where the eyes were...actually it looked like there were a pair of closed eyes ON the screen, even though the TV was off. It had bones hanging on each side like...almost like floppy goat ears. Weird. But the weirdest thing of all...was the pair of bare human feet sticking out from the bottom. Slate grey complexion like the dead. The filing cabinet next to it was made of bone framework with metal drawers and such. The feet at the bottom were clawed hands wrapping around metal balls. There was a water cooler. Normal enough. An evil chimera cuckoo clock on top of a shelf. Made of various animals crawling around its main demon head. As soon as the hour struck a skull popped out where the cuckoo should have been. On the desk was an old-timey corded telephone...only it was made of a skull with bulging red eyes in it and its teeth were the number buttons. "Whoah..." "That's just evil and creepy." I muttered under my breath. Suddenly the phone started ringing. "I'll get it--" Asriel reached for it but the phone literally jumped out of the way. The "Ansa-bone" answering machine suddenly started speaking, its skull teeth jaws moving by themselves. "Hello, you've reached the Ghostbusters Telephone Answering Machine and you're in luck: The Ghostbusters aren't home!" And then it cackled loudly. "Eesh. Rude." I wrinkled my nose as I headed to the TV. "I hope not all of the appliances around here are jerks--" I reached for the knob when...! And like that the TV sprung to life, its eyes on the screen open up. "Uhhhl! Change your own channels, bub. I'm resting my transistors!" I jumped back as the TV turned its back on me. Literally. "Weird place." "These ARE the good guys, aren't they, Volt?" I shrugged. A bit more poking around... "I heard something in the next room." "Arm yourself." I got ready to morph. In all the excitement, I can't believe Azzy and I never changed out of our human disguises. Azzy released the NX Board and snapped off its NX Joycons and readied its Buster Pistols. I kicked open the door and...! Screams from both sides. "Oh! You must be new clients." "We thought you were...!" "Ghosts? A shrug from both of the new faces. "We're not clients but we are from out of town. Though...we seem to have stumbled upon a bit of an adventure." Two men in the forties possibly fifties. Their attire looked...woefully out of time and place. Like a satire of gangsters from the 40's yet looking like it was made up of wardrobe from the 70's. The taller, thinner, black-haired of the two was wearing a red overcoat with a blue t-shirt with a yellow number 8 on it. Tan pants and tennis shoes. Blue hat kinda like Napstablook's. The brunette, heavier set of the two was wearing a navy blue button up shirt with white necktie, blue waist coat, purple pants, and dress shoes with spats. He looked the more "gangster" of the two with his purple fedora and handkerchief sticking out of his overcoat pocket. "I'm Dr. Volt Arcade and this is my companion." "Asriel Tobias Dreemurr-Arcade." "No relation." We said in unison. I thing somewhere Buster and Babs Bunny were on the phone with their lawyers. Oh well. "Jake Kong senior and Eddie Spencer Senior at your service." "The original Ghostbusters. Why don't you tell us what happened." "Sure thing, Mr. Spencer." Asriel started. "We arrived in the city and came to the park at night when this evil skeleton cyborg dude ambushed us. Said his name was...Primevil." The two of them looked at each other. "Primevil is loose again?" "That might explain where our sons disappeared to." "Your sons?" "The current Ghostbusters, Jake Kong Jr. and Eddie Spencer Jr. And their faithful gorilla, Tracy. They took over our Ghostbusters business a while back when we retired." Sooo...the human was named "Kong" but the gorilla was named "Tracy"? What's wrong with this picture...? Wait. Asriel and I looked at each other. "Then that's who Primevil had captured in his dungeon." "Yeah, he took us to the future and tried to make us his captives." "We've got to rescue them somehow." "How? Without the Bone-troller, we can't go back to the future." "Maybe there's another way." "I don't know...maybe we're too old to go on this new-fangled adventures." "What choice to we have, Eddie?" Asriel and I looked at each other, confused. "No other option." "Count me in. Whatever it is." Asriel pointed a thumb to his chest. "Me too. I go where Azzy goes." A couple sly looks all around before somehow but pure instinct or some twist of fate...maybe Lady Destiny... "Let's Go, GHOSTBUSTERS!!!" The four of us jumped and high-fived at the same time. Not sure why we did it...but it just felt...right. We followed as the senior Ghostbusters ran to the other room; Jake Sr. yanked on the lance held by the suit of armor, opening up the doorway into the "Secret Transformation Room". Inside was an elevator made completely of bone among a cluttered room full of stuff that belonged in a museum or a Halloween party supply store. Once inside, the doors slammed shut on us. Jake pressed the teeth on the skull (wearing an Elevator Bellhop's cap, no less) in sequence and the whole thing was pushed upstairs into the most messed up, creepy hammerspace that must've ever existed in the world of all spooky things. Bones. Twisted ghoul and goblin faces, stars and polka-dots, One the skeleton hand grabbed onto the top of the car a giant skeleton hand reached in and grabbed each of us, one by one and flung us across the space. As Jake landed first into the spider's web, the web lit up and his whole outfit disappeared in a tangle of lightning. Yikes. At least he was still wearing boxer shorts. How embarassing... As he was lowered onto a conveyor belt of bones with a boney hannd serving as his seat, he whistled rather care free and relaxed. Eddie sailed past him into the web next. Jake was carried into an assembly line opening. Moments later he came out the other side of the machine further down below, completely dressed in a suit that looked like a cross between a tan safari outfit and a jump suit. As he was helped to his feet by another set of bony hands, various arms and skulls attached a utility belt to his waist, draped a camera around his neck, and slapped a backpack on his back. Eddie's outfit was more like a jumpsuit with a trenchcoat. At the very end of the line, a plunger stuck a pilot's cap on his head. For Asriel and I, we were left mostly alone. Guess there were only enough costumes to go around. But as soon as we exited the machine on the other end of the conveyor belt. "Asriel, our disguises!" Sure enough I was re-morphed and Asriel's Unitrix had reset. Asriel just shrugged. "Just go with it." He patted me on the back as we rode the conveyor belt of bones. Up ahead, the Senior Ghosbusters had taken flying bone trapeezes to the chute leading down. A slide of bones lead us back into the house and into a hole behind a retractable Murphy Bed. At the bottom of the pipe we landed on something soft and cushiony...accompanied by multiple grunts and groans of pain. "Huh? Wha...?" I gasped as I noticed the seatbelts buckling around us by themselves. Asriel had landed in the drivers seat with me landing in the passenger's seat. The seniors, in full gear landed behind us. "N-N-Next time call be-f-f-fore you dr-drop innn!" I heard the voice say. "Who said that?" I asked. Asriel pointed to the car. A weird vermillion and orange old-timey convertable Model T-esque kind of vehicle...and it talked. Of course it talked. "That would be the Ghost Buggy." "G.B. for short." A quick explanation led to a round of stares. "Well...explain later." Asriel shrugged it off. "Son, are you old enough to drive--" Asriel held up his driver's license. "Good enough." G.B. moaned. "If it wasn't b-b-bad enough *sputter* that I had to be d-driven by that overgrown banana-eater...n-now I'm being piloted by l-livestock?!" "Will people please quit calling me that! I'm a goat, alright? It's not "down on the farm, y'all. Not cool." Asriel retorted, a bit irrate. "So...now what?" "Hit the Time-Turbo. We'll explain on the way." "Uh...likewise I guess." I said with a shrug as the car suddenly telescoped on weird stilts on its A-frame, the front and rear wheels criss-crossing with each other a couple times before the bat-like wings popped out the sides and the...er..."Ghostbuster" insinea in front pulled in then was replaced with an airplane nose cone. A massive rocket's jetfire poured out the back as we were slingshot out of the garage and into the sky. "It's Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang time, Azzy. Here we go." I said with a shrug. "What's...Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang?" He asked. "Wow. I feel old." I said as my ears defleated. Asriel flipped the chrome-plated switch and the Time Turbo kicked, in launching us through space and time into...the Fuuuuuuutuuuuuuuuure! (Wah-hah-hah-hah!) We reappeared above Haunt-quarters. "We're back!" "And Primevil wasted no time preparing an ambush. Looks like he's got his forces out in full force." I pointed. A spell from Floatzart and Aparatia soon grounded us. We got out of the car. "Well. Good luck. N-n-nice knowing you." "You're all heart." I wrinkled my snoot. "When you have carburators instead of a heart, you get to c-complain, Fido!" Ugh. Now dog jokes. I was beginning to sympathize with Azzy. "Let's get em!" Asriel deployed his NX Gear. "How do we fight these guys?" "Improvise." Eddie hauled out what he described as a "Ghost Gummer" and splattered the first unlucky one to get in range, which happened to be the Haunter. "Oh fiddle-dee-dee and pish-posh." He complained as he struggled before somehow poofing out of existence, leaving only his flying hat and a pair of disembodied eyes. "What happened?" "He was de-materialized. Sent to ghost limbo but only for a short while." "Cool concept!" Asriel switched to Splatoon Mode and converted to Dynamo Roller. "Gaaaaah!" Long John Scarechrome tried floating away before being rolled up into and ink splat, spun around the roller a few times, and flung off into the distance before POOF! A lone pirate ship sailed off with his ghostly essence stowing aboard. "Nice, Azzy." But my joy turned to anger when I laid eyes on Fangster. "And WHAT are you supposed to be?" I growled. "Fangster, Werewolf of the Future--" "Don't care." I decompressed the Proton Pack Hybrid and loaded up the Stasis Stream, freezing him in place first. Then I followed up with the Slime Blower, coating him from ears to boots. And finally I delivered a well-placed roundhouse kick, sending him spinning like a top while splattering slime everwhere. Another poof and he was out of my fur. How DOES a werewolf of the future count as a ghost? It shouldn't. It really shouldn't. Logic must be thrown out the window on this world. "You FOOOOLS! YOU'RE DROPPING LIKE FLIES! GET THEM LIKE YOUR AFTER-LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! BECAUSE THEY...GYNAAAAAAAAGH...DOOOOO!!!" Eddie produced what he described as a "Specter Snare". A quick-firing rope from a weird ray rifle that bound Float-zart pretty quick. POOF. Back to "Ghostland" with you. "How about a little Ghost Remover to wipe this stain away?" Jake Senior produced a weird spray can like a fogger and doused Mysteria and she literally erased from existed. "Oh! Busted!" She wailed. I whipped out the Ghost Chipper and Apparatia soon found out what it was like to be a shredded newspaper...before POOF! "We're mopping the floor with them! LIterally!" Asriel switched to Brush Mode and sweeped it back and forth, leaving a trail of ink as he threatened to say "Knight-Knight" (Hah!) to Sir Trance-A-Lot! "Looks like I'm the one having a bad niiiiiight!" *SPLUT* *POOF* When the numbers dwindled down, all was left was... "Hey! N-no-n-no f-f-fair! Four on one is ch-cheating!" "Your master seems to think cheating is part of the rules. Well. Don't want to disappoint him." We all opened fire as Scared Stiff tried outrunning us. Then he tripped over his own feet and collapsed into a pile of junk...before POOFING away. "You know, these ghosts are a lot easier than I remember when our sons rescued us." "No kidding. I don't even see Airhead mong them." "You may have dealt with my forces...but you won't deal with me so easily!" Jake leveled the Dematerializer and fired. But low and behold. "He's still too strong!" I tried adding my Proton Thrower to the mix. Still not enough. We kept the pressure on but he kept coming. "Huh? Where'd Asriel go?" "Right here." Goat son waved as he calmly walked out of Haunt-Quarters with Jake Jr., Eddie Jr. Tracey, Futura and Bellfrey the Bat behind him. "Azzy? How did you...?" "After I painted Sir Trance-a-Lot into a corner I busted into Haunt-quarters. This nice young woman from further into the future and this talking bat showed up and helped me find the prisoners and help free them. "Son! You okay?" "We're okay, pop." Jake Jr. confirmed. "As soon as we were out, Tracy set up the portable transformation booth and got us into uniform." "It's a good thing you guys came when you did! I was d-d-dark in there." Eddie Jr.'s knees were knocking. "You did all that in the span of--" I started. "Wow." Color me impressed. "How you holding up, Tracy?" Eddie Sr. asked. The big ape grinned and grunted twice before responding with what sounded like "Okie-dokie!" Huh. Semi-talking gorillas. Yup. Weird place. "Figures that overgrown zoo attraction *sputter* would come put smelling like a r-r-rose!" G.B. complained. "Not to bring the mood down but...Primevil's looking a bit on the super-miffed side." I warned. And sure enough... "You will be the first to taste my wrath!" "I don't think so. I think your plans are about to go up in smoke!" Asriel grinned. "What are you talking about--" That was when we all heard the sudden chorus of every note on the Bone-Troller go off and all the windows of Haunt-Quarters shatter. "Did I forget to mention the part where Tracy helped me sabotage the Bone-troller and set it to overload? That's going to be one very nasty vortex." "NOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?" Asriel gave a wink and a taunting "bye-bye" wave before we all climbed into the Ghost Buggy and Future climbed aboard her Time Hopper hoverscooter. As Haunt-Quarters began to implode, sucking up everything in its path, Primevil was caught in the vortex. "MARK MY WORDS...I'LL HAVE MY...KSSSSHT...REVENNNNNGE!!!" And that was that. Back in the 80's... "It's a good thing you came when you did." "We had help." "We owe ya!" "It's what we do." I shrugged. "But it does make me wonder. I turned serious. "...about who let Primevil out in the first place." Asriel looked at me, worried. I don't know if he heard me call him by name yet, but by now he was picking up on the fact that there was someone dangerous out there. I hadn't told him the whole truth about his Bracer. What I did say wasn't a lie...but it was subject to how you interpreted it. While I intended it to mean one thing...it meant something else. "Can you stay? We haven't given you a proper welcome and thank-you yet." Admittedly, Futura had kind of a scratchy voice when I really thought about it. But she was easy on the eyes. Guess fashion and beauty didn't go out of style in 100 years. SHe kinda looked like Kylie Griffin from my mentor's future team. Oily black hair. Pale. Gothic-looking. A red leotard with blue shoulder armor that cover the entire back. and helmet that was more like an overly-reenforced headset. Shoulder-length yellow gloves. Blue slipper-boots. Something...almost Raven-esque about her. "We'd love to but we have to get back to our world. Our time and dimension." I shook my head. "My Time Hopper has locked onto the right coordinates." "It's good to finally have tech support I can trust." I said, relieved. The portal back to the Gateway Room opened up. Some hand-shaking and a big gorilla-hug from Tracy and we were on our way. "That might not have been the outing we planned for. But it was still fun in a cheesey way." "Yeah. There are some hokey 80's dimensions out there. Reassuring that they still hold up after all this time." "Man, I almost wish I were born in the 1980's." "Born without cell phones, butterscotch-cinnamon pies, and such?" "Let's...not be too hasty." Asriel slyly grinned. "Well, come on. Let's let the others know we're okay. We'll try again later on in the month to head to my mentors' place. With that we left the room and turned off the lights, closing the gates. Sub-Entry 108: "The Second Ghostbusters Story": Having goofed with the trip off world, Asriel and I decided to give it another go and seek out the REAL Ghostbusters. I felt it only right to bring him back around again to meet and greet for a reunion. Besides, there was a second story waiting for him in the works. With it being so close to Christmas and New Years, now was the perfect time to tell about my mentor's other big gig. To to kick this off the bucket list. I put the Santa hat on Azzy. He didn't seem to mind. "You're so sentimental, Volt." "I know. Seat belts on. We're going back to the Big Apple." "Disguises on, too." Asriel selected the human DNA archetype and shoved the plunger down, again taking human form. "Of course." I demorphed then drove out of the X-Vault and through the Cyber Gates. In no time we drove into the secondary garage and Janine buzzed us in. We dropped the disguises once inside. "Asriel! It's so good to see you! Oh my god, you've grown so much!" Janine hugged him. "Well, not all that much..." Asriel rubbed the underside of his snoot with his index finger in a humble way. "And you've got your horns!" "Well...starting to get them." Asriel shrugged. "...where is he? There you are! I see a goat kid in need of his hero! C'mere you lil' knucklehead!" Peter waltzed in and got Azzy in a headlock and followed up with a noogie. "Hey! Why does everybody have to noogie the goat son." "Peter!" Janine protested. "Really, Janine. It's all in good fun." "Eheheheh..." "Volt Arcade and Asriel! Welcome back to the firehouse! Oh wow, it's so good to see you! Do you have any exciting stories? Where'd you go on your last adventure! You gotta tell me everything." Yup. Raymond Stantz, Ghostbuster and cinnamon roll. "Ray, do you mind? I was just about to offer an autograph--" Asriel sweatdropped. "Putting forth our best interests again, Peter?" Came the dry, rhetorical interjection of a serious voice. I knew that voice. "Greetings again, mentor." I waved to Dr. Egon Spengler. "Welcome back again, my former collegue. Some to check on--" "Not this time. Besides..." "I made a promise to leave the Wraith forgotten. It's the harshest punishment I could give without lowering myself to its level." Asriel looked off to the side. "Understandable and a wise choice. Not an easy one to make." "You would have really given the Grundel fits." Ray commented, referring to an old case of a supernatural entity that corrupted children; targeting the "bad apples". "Chara would have been another story, though." Asriel rubbed the back of his head. "I hope she forgives me for saying that." "So what's the occasion dropping in on us out of the blue?" Winston asked. "Basically this time is a social call. Basically we needed a change of pace from town. It's pretty close to that time of year...soooo..." I was a little coy about it. "...I was thinking you could pick up from where we left off?" "Left off?" Ray asked. "I believe he's referring to our second gig. Five years after Gozer." "Ohhhh...THAT little bookmark in our lives." Peter mused. "Well, join us up stairs and presuming anything's left of the kitchen..." "Slimer?" Asriel asked. "Slimer." Everyone else said in unison. "It's...okay. I'm not really hungry or thirsty." He said with a huge anime sweatdrop. You know after becoming a Hybrid, he picked up that trick pretty easily. I still haven't figured out how exactly it works on our world. Maybe we were more anime relative to other worlds, including the Underground. Oh yeah. Undyne and Alphys will love visiting Miranda some day. And so, in the TV room... "Sit back my friends as I, the great Dr. Peter Venkman, spin the tale of how the Ghostbusters came back after 5 years of being out of business." "Ahem?" Egon and Ray practically said in unison. "Annnnnd I'll keep it objective....spoilsports." Peter crossed his arms. "With Gozer properly kicked out of our dimension, we were hailed like the heroes we were." "Uh. Not be everyone, Peter." "While the crowds cheered, the Mayor and his staff were less amused. We presented a huge bill for our services. Just our luck...the city presented an even bigger bill for the damages..." Asriel winced slightly. "While we both declared bankruptsy, the city stayed in business. We...didn't. Seems...a lot of people weren't happy with us blowing the top floors off a New York high rise appartment complex." "It was more than just the Superintendant who was P.O.'ed." Ray looked off to the side. "And we ended up getting sued by every county in the state of New York. So what do we have to show for it? Unemployment and a Judicial Restraining Order." Winston's bitterness told tales. "Basically that means they couldn't bust ghosts anymore." I explained. "Yeah, I get it." Azzy shrugged it off. "So. Each of us was told to get a real job and go our separate ways." Winston continued. "Ray and I opened an occult bookstore." "While taking work as party clowns, breakdancing for ungrateful little yuppie larva." Ray folded his arms. I stifled a chuckle, only because of the phrase "yuppie larva". "The last thing a Ghostbuster wants to hear when asked "Who ya' gonna call" is a response of "HE-MAN!!!" I shrugged. Winston rolled his eyes. "Peter was borderline for a while...then he crossed the border." Egon said dryly. The way he put it could have just as easily meant living on the city, county, or state border...just as much as it could have meant losing all common sense. "He took his ascerbic wit to the television waves belittling bottom of the barrel guests on a talk show." "Hey. Don't go dissing Realm of the Psychic. It was a legit show exploring the supernatural." "Right. Like the hairless pets and the two authors who had different stories on the end of the world?" Winston looked smug. "Which left Egon to retire to academia and establish the Institute For Advanced Theoretical Research." "For a brief time I set up shop next to Mentor's facility." "What kind of research were you doing?" "Attempting to determine if human-- "Or humanoid." I added. Egon cleared his throat. "If human and humanoid emotions actually affect the environment." "A theory we both had when were were still Ghostbusters." Ray chimed in. "Hey." I piped up. "Let's see what happens when we take away the puppy?" I said with a smirk. Egon lowered an eyebrow. "Kidding. Sorry, I couldn't resist, Mentor." Asriel immediately knew it was an inside joke. "So...?" "Dana Barett came to me with a supernatural encounter. Her infant son, Oscar was involved in an incident when his baby carriage took off on its own and steered its way through traffic before stopping in the intersection, shy of being run down by a bus." "Yikes." Asriel looked kind of alarmed. "So she asked you to look in on it as a favor." "On the grounds that I could bring Ray in on it. But not Peter." Asriel looked at Peter rather inquisitively, sensing where this was going. "She was just playing hard to get. I know she was asking for the big hurt and all--" Ray cut in. "He tortured me. He pulled me ears." "That's kinda mean." Asriel folded his arms. "Skipping ahead after some tests on the baby and catching up on old times--" "Or trying to guilt trip your old flame after she got divorced from Mr. Right as you put it." Ray prodded. "Mooooving on..." Peter continued. "We kinda dug a big hole in the street to find out the cause." I folded my arms. Azzy could tell something was coming that he should take with a grain of salt. "So we find this old pneumatic transit tunnel. It was an old experimental subway system using giant fans to push rail cars back and forth. And flowing through it was a river of slime!" "A river of SLIME?" Asriel repeated. "So we took a sample of it but...kinda blacked out town in the process...and got arrested for it." Ray sheepishly explained poking his index fingers together repeatedly in a child-like way while hanging his head. "Oooh." Asriel cringed while I face-palmed. "Not your most shining moment." "By this time our popularity is at an all time low and we get a double dose of bad medicine with a no-nonsense battle axe for a district attorney while getting nailed to the wall by the judge." "They called him 'The Hammer'." Winston interjected. "Ohhh. Nails. Hammer. Nice." Asriel couldn't resist picking up on a pun. "But you got representation, right?" Azzy was familar with how court systems worked by this point. Peter, Ray, and Egon all pointed to the side where one Louis Tully had entered. Asriel shrunk down in his seat a little, resisting the urge to cringe. Make that a triple dose of bad medicine. "So you were railroaded into the ground." "The Major's aide was very specific to the D.A. to make sure we went away for a very long time." Ray looked quite distraught. "As it turned out, the negative emotional state of the courtroom sparked a very disastrous reaction with the sample of ectoplasm being used as evidence. At the height of the judge passing sentence, and vowing that if the law were the same as the days of the Puritans, we'd all be burned at the stake as witches..." "The slime kinda...exploded. And released a pair of ghosts." "The Scolari Brothers. I really wanted in on that action." "Wait, Volt. You WANTED to fight those ghosts?" "The Scolari Brothers were tried by the same judge for murder. He gave them the electric chair." "Ohhhhhhhhhhh." Azzy put two and two together, figuring out they were electro-kinetic. "To make it short, under protest, Louis managed to get the Judge to reverse the verdict and throw the case out so we could bust some ghost. So we came, we saw, we kicked ghost butt again!" "Two in the box." "Ready to go." "We be fast..." "And they be slow!" Ray, Egon, Peter, and I repeated the bit, word for word. "Wow." Asriel exclaimed. "You took the words right out of my mouth." Louis muttered. "So...in a nifty montage of coming back strong again, we were back in business and hired back our valueable and trusted receptionist." "Your flattery comes a little late from the last story, Dr. Venkman." Janine crossed her arms. "Better late than never?" Peter said with an uncomfortable grin. "Where have I heard THAT before..." I muttered as I looked out the window at the Statue of Liberty well into the distance of the New York skyline. "We started running tests on the ectoplasma while checking up on Dana's case. We found that it was very psycho-reactive." "In other words it eats bad vibes like a cop in a donut factory." Winston clarified. "While I helped get the business back on its feet on a technical level from behind the scenes. I learned plenty from the first Ecto Containment Unit to improve the new one." "Appreciated." Egon nodded. "After a major psychomagnetheric event at Ms. Barett's residence involving a bathtub brought to life with more of the ectoplasma, Peter contacted us while we continued our experiments on the slime. Peter's earlier visit at her place of residence ended up yielding a name we ran through Toban's Spirit Guide. A lot of ugly history came up." Ray explained. "Prince Vigo Von Homburg Deutchendorf." "A prince?" Asriel looked uneasy. The word still didn't resonate well with him after all this time. It wasn't that he had anything against royalty...it was more about being a reminder of the past. "A cruel tyrant, sorceror and psychotic autocrat of the province of Moldavia. Lived from 1505 to 1610." "Only 6 years younger than me." Asriel acknowledged his time in the Void. "He didn't die of old age either. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn-and-quartered." Ray said in a low voice. Asriel's eyes widened and he shrunk down. "Humans sure know how to overkill. I don't think this is a story I'd want Chara to learn about." "We took scans and photos of this giant portrait of Vigo in the museum where Dana worked. It didn't take long for us to determine there was a spiritual presence inside. Or find the river of slime in one of the spectron analyzer enhnancements." Egon clarified. "So Ray, Egon, and I went to invistigate the subway tunnels to search for the source of the slime while Peter was out rekindling the romance with his ex." Winston continued. "Tactful as always, Winston. Good man." Peter's sarcasm was evident. "Many supernatural forces tried to stop us from reaching the tunnel. When we tried to get a measurement, the slime pulled all three of us under and took us for a ride straight to the Museum." "Wait a minute...you said the slime feeds on evil, right? So...swimming in a pool full of it--" I did say Asriel was perceptive. "Not a good catalyst for friendships. We were about ready to throw down before Egon snapped us out of it and told us to ditch our coveralls." "There wasn't time to debate things so we ran to the Restaurant to warn Peter--" "Yes, Asriel. In their long johns, before you ask. That's...kinda how they all got arrested and taken to the Mayor...who basically laughed them out of office...only it wasn't laughing. It was more like...'your two minutes are up, get the Hell out of my office'." "Didn't help that that that little weasel, Hardimeyer had us committed to the Parkview Hospital for the Mentally Disturbed." Ray folded his arms. "A scientist's worst nightmare." I grumbled. "Meanwhile Vigo sent his puppet, Dana's boss at the museum, Dr. Janoz Pohah to kidnap Oscar by using supernatural powers." "Louis and I paid a visit to his cousin, Sherman, a skin doctor, and managed to get the guys released from Parkview. By this time New York had spiraled out of control from the massive supernatural surge. Slime pouring up out of the ground, ghost sightings everwhere..." "Don't forget the Titanic arriving." I chimed in again. "While Dana went to the museum to get her son back. She ended up being trapped inside while the Slime formed a barrier around the whole building." "The guys tried to bust through the barrier with the Proton Packs but..." "That slime wall was just pulsing with evil." Asriel drew the conclusion. "The price humans paid for being so cruel to each other." "It puts things in perspective when you see Jack Hardimeyer sucked into the slime wall, leaving just his expensive shoes behind." I crossed my arms. "We weren't about to give up though. Egon got the idea from Ecto-1A's licence plate. Ray gave the cowboy speech that motivated us. What we needed was a symbol. A way to motivate the good will and the spark of hope and dreams in everyone." "Something good." "Something decent." "Something pure." "Something like...a giant statue of a French woman in a toga, sandals, carrying a torch, book, and crown?" Asriel looked smug. "Well aren't you the sharp one?" "Venkman was here." I reminded of the graffit inside. "A little sound system and several gallons of mood slime from toes to head plus a tape of Howard Huntsberry's remix of "Higher and Higher" and you got yourself a remote-controlled Lady Liberty." Yup. A lot of things from Azzy and my first visit here together came together like a jigsaw puzzle. By now Asriel was invested and starting to get excited by the rising action. "While Janine sent Louis off as the fifth Ghostbuster to meet up with us, we took to the streets of New York just as New Years Eve was ticking down to the final hour." "More than just an accountant, huh, Mr. Tully?" Louis kinda turned away, a little embarassed. "It's okay, little man. You get to hang with the guys on this one. Hold your head high." Peter urged. "So we marched Lady Liberty up to the museum, drew back that arm, and smashed that torch through the slime all and the roof of the museum and rappled down." "He hosed Pojah and seemed to break the spell. Vigo needed a human body to inhabit and that's why he kidnapped little Oscar." "To be reborn." Asriel reasoned. "Right." "But...I'm pretty sure that it wasn't that simple." "Unable to inhabit the body, Vigo appeared in a spirit form and subdued us all. It seems his reputation as a sorceror was well founded." "Oh no. Then that meant he was free to try to inhabit the baby." Asriel looked worried. "However. We lucked out. It hit the stroke of midnight and you know what that meant." "Auld Lang Syne. The people outside...they were singing...and their singing and good vibes." "Hey, who's telling this story?" Peter complained with a pouty face. "So we were able to break free. The vibes were strong enough to suck Vigo back into the painting but he had one last trick up his sleeve. Didn't he, Ray?" All eyes were on Stantz who looked really embarassed. "He possessed you?" Asriel took a guess, based on his experience with the Chara Wraith. "Listen to you go. You're real Ghostbusters material." Janine patted his head. "Aww..." Azzy blushed. "So Winston hosed him down with the Slime Blower while Egon and I lit up the painting with our proton throwers. It was enough to separate him from Ray and send him back to the Hell that spawned him!" Peter started to climb up into a heroic pose before Janine yanked him back by the ear lobe. "We just had it reupholstered." She glared. "With Vigo defeated, Ray and Janoz woke up feeling like a million bucks, as it was described earlier, while Peter and Dana got reacquainted." Egon explained. "But, man. You had to check out the painting." "Oh yeah. Raphael or Francessco?" I prompted. "Nah. It was one of the fettucines." Peter shrugged it off. I showed Asriel a photo I kept of it, depicting four angels hovering around a newborn baby. Four...very...strangely familiar angels. "They look like...!" I put my hand on Asriel's shoulder giving a shush gesture with a coy smile. "So afterwards, we got the key to the city (which paid to have the Statue of Liberty cleaned up and put back on her pedastal) and we were able to resume our business again. Theee End!" Peter spread his arms out with a look that was inviting applause. Oh brother. Asriel humored him with some clapping. "At least until the third tale..." I mused. "Oh?" Asriel looked in my direction. "Another time, Azzy. Another time." "Well that's some tale." "Gets better every time I tell it." Peter said as he reached over to grab a slice of the pizza that Janine had gotten out of the fridge. Miraculously it hadn't been touched by-- "But I have to ask...what about Slimer?" "Who do you think drove Louis to the museum with Ecto 1A still parked there?" Janine mused. "Eh...I guess the spud gets his props--" Peter started before *SPLAAAAT!* The excited laughter of the green spud echoed thorugh the room as he came up through the floor and absolutely drenched Peter socks to hairline. THe next moment the whole firehouse reverberated with the scream of: "SLIIIIIIIIIIIIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!" A round of laughter from everone who wasn't Peter filled the room. While New Years was still further off, it was about time for the bigger of the two holidays... Sub-Entry 109: "Christmas is Here": The Holidays. How can you not love them? Well...I guess Ebeneezer Scrooge had his reasons but he took them far enough for three ghosts to show him the error of his ways so...really, I'm not sure where to go with this. Let's just move on and say even now, this was the happiest time of the year. "Back from Christmas caroling, Azzy?" "I sure am." "Mitzi tells me you've got a good singing voice." "Aww...not really." Asriel turned pink in the cheeks. "Never a doubt why your mom calls you her humble bundle. You're so modest, man." "Aww, come on! Stop embarrassing me." "Okay, okay. I'm not Vi so I'm not gonna pick on you." I rubbed the back of my head. "In all seriousness, you've been going at this charity thing and helping the needy pretty regularly for the last five years. You may not think you're a saint, but some would say otherwise." "Let's not make this about me. I mean, you guys are no slouches, either. The Arcade Foundation has made this a happy time of year for so many. Gift donation, those big checks to adoption agencies, personal apperances at hospitals and shelters." "Now who's embarrassing who?" I rubbed Asriel's head. "Hey, don't noogie the goat son." "You love it." We both couldn't help it. We had to laugh. "Anyway. The Christmas season is here again." "Yup. Once again every store in town started playing Christmas carols not even an hour after the Halloween party." "Earlier and earlier, huh?" "Rotor thinks that since Thanksgiving keeps being swept under the rug and forgotten, that we should just combine it with Christmas to form one super-holiday that lasts from November through December." "Heh. A two-month long holiday? Sounds like wishful thinking." I looked on. "You know...it's getting harder and harder to think of stuff to ask for every year and almost as hard to think of stuff to get for everyone else." "The complications of growing up, huh? Toys don't interest you anymore while at the same time you're not sure what's appropriate gift ideas for an ever-maturing circle of friends." "Yeah, something like that. I...just don't want to offend someone because I was thoughtless, Volt." "I don't think you have to worry about that. About the only one in danger of doing that is Violet. I mean...did you see what she got--" Asriel turned 50 shades of red, or so it seemed. "...I'll take that as a yes." "Speaking of Aunt Vi, we'll once again have to sit through her annual telling of her...ahem...naughty edition of the Night Before Christmas." I facepalmed. Violet always had to give her R-rated version of the Night Before Christmas. How anyone manages to tell a rendition that involves swearing, lewd stocking-stuffers, a Meatloaf reference, and father Christmas blasting the chimney apart from bad gas, I'll never know...and hopefully never find out. "That rabbit is a menace." "You know she asked me if I know how Santa Claus lets Al Dente know he's made the naughty list?" "...don't go there." "I finally get why you kept telling me that ignorance is bliss." "Good grief." "You know she switched out Computer Valhalla's doorbell music again?" "I shudder to ask...but what did she change it to?" "Have you ever heard of a group called...Run D.M.C.?" Oh boy. Silent Night done old school rap? The world isn't ready for this. Nobody celebrated Christmas like Violet. "Well. I guess we better get ready for her holiday party." "She wanted to host it in Little Tokyo during this vacation you're planning." "But unfortunately it's already too late for that. Maybe another year. WIth all that's gone on lately, vacation is looking to be sometime in the new year." Asriel nodded. "Well. I'm headed home. I'll meet you there, later on." "And let's hope Violet can put a lid on whatever overkill security Al Dente has this year." Hours later... "...I take it back. THIS is the worst thing Dente has done." Chameleon growled as we all looked up at the pair of ED-209 droids guarding the front entrance. "PRESENT R.S.V.P. AND PREPARE TO SUBMIT TO INTERROGATION AND FULL SECURITY CHECK!" Jon ducked behind Mitzi. And Antoine ducked behind Jon. "Seriously, Al?" Asriel barely looked fazed. He definitely looked unamused. I can only imagine how Violet was going to take it when she showed up fashionably late. "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS, EACH, TO COMPLY--" Okay. Please tell me these things were using bean-bag ammo. I did not want to have to play immortal meat shield for everyone just because Alfred Dente went off the deep end again. This guy needs to be stopped. "ALLLLLFREEEEEEEEEED!!!!" Uh-oh. "Aunt Sally? What's that heavy crashing sound?" "Sounds like the biggest, metal footsteps I've ever heard--" And thats when I saw it. "Oh COME ONNNNN!" I whined as I recognized the form of M.E.G.A.S. XLR stomp down the city street before picking up both of the far, FAR smaller security droids before pounding them into its palm like a catcher breaking in a new baseball glove. "My ancestors are punishing us all for something." Bunnie folded her arms, the anime throbbing veins threatening to overtake her whole forehead. "Geeeze. Only Aunt Vi squelches overkill with even bigger overkill..." Asriel looked up and up and up at the robot with the car for a head. "Heeey! We're just in time!" Coop. "Show me the babes and the mistletoe." Jamie. "..." And very little response from Kiva. But I could tell she was pissed. "Lady Violet! Stop! Stop, what are you doing?! Those security enforcers cost a fortune--" "And my security remover cost only an exchange of shared heavy metal Devil Horns and an offer of enjoying the Holiday buffet. Get some Christmas spirit, Scrooge. Or I'll trim the city budget by giving you such a pay cut, you'll earn less than Bob Cratchet. Get me, Dente? I'm sure that extra money can be donated to the Salvation Army." "Lady Viiiiii!" Chameleon's scales turned an angier shade of red. "And to think I complained about the man with the rubber glove at last year's Christmas celebration." "Not helping, Chameleon." I growled. "Hey, Violet. Tell me you got pizza-wrapped hams on the buffet table." Coop suddenly cut in. "Only the best, dude." Violet gave a thumbs-up. "Rock on." Coop said as he had M.E.G.A.S. crumple up the twisted clump of destroyed security droids into a ball of metal and chuck it over its shoulder where it landed somewhere outside of town, causing a small tremor and a crater. "Major...?" "I have several barrels of sake standing by for Brooke-domou." Bunnie said as we all just walked into the party. "I protest this completely unacceptable disregard of proper security clearance! Have any of you even submitted your mandatory blood tests--" Al started before he felt something jab into his neck. "What the--" He swayed a moment before crumpling to the floor. Awake but... "So. How long will this paralyze him for?" Lulu spun the tranquilizer injector pistol. "I won't ask how you got that..." Lupe's ears drooped. "Those are only supposed to be used for emergencies at the nature preserve when I'm not around to pacify the animals." "Sorry, Lupe. I'll reemburse you later." Marcel walked past before he and Lulu shared a knucklebump. Partners in crime, it would seem. "In the mean time, let's party!" Red was close behind. "Can someone get M.E.G.A.S. out of the city before we have to tell the ERROR team what the'll be doing the day after Christmas?!" I complained. Kid soon drifted past me, floating in midair; laying back like was sunbathing in an invisible lawnchair. "Hey, I know!" I heard Marcel say from inside. "Remember that one Christmas when you gave me access to his room?" "And you "liberated" him of his assets only to sell them back to him on eBay, Marcel? Classic. You thinking round 2?" A grin from the necromancer prince of thieves. While at the same time the Septus Prince had an idea of his own. "I'm suddenly in the mood for a game of darts." "...with a certain overweight beagle's rump serving as the dart board?" Never trust a smiling lizard, as King Jaimas of Raxis put it. Also...I'd be lying if I said this was the first time Chameleon had done this to Al. Inside... "Wow, it's just like the classic Christmas parties of days olde." Violet's parents had made the scene. His royal excellence, Emperor Fred...the...not-all-there, crossed, beatnik scat-singer, giant panda hybrid. It was hard to tell sometimes if he met the minimum requirments to be considered sentient. And of course, Violet's hippy-dippy mother, Empress Frieda. I don't know how much older she was than Vi...but I swear there were sorority girls in college who were more low-key than her. I mean what can you say about a six or seven foot rabbit monarch who dressed in shorts, blouse, tennis shoes, and backpack every time she was aroud. Oh. And she also carried a rocket launcher in her pack. Yeah...I had mentioned Frieda and Violet's war games back in Edoropia before...right? So what were their highnesses doing? Fred was waddling around chanting his own name and scat-singing, occasionally waving paper fans. And sometimes poking around the potted bamboo trees that Lupe had gotten the Tokugawas as a gift. While Frieda was flying high and pulling air tricks on a very expensive hoverboard right out of Technopolis. Yeah. As much of an adrenaline junkie as Sally. "This is something else." Asriel admired the scene. "Gets bigger every year." THe night went on with movies, videos, and live web broadcasts on the Tokugawa family's Q-LED 8K flatpanel TV's. Virtual reality in the other room. A white elephant gift exchange. live entertainment, a bouncy castle, and an indoor water-slide. Just about anything that Vi's family could shake a checkbook at. "I know we're all going to get caught up in the splendor of Aunt Vi's over-the-top, super-expensive party and all...but..." Asriel began. "I hope we all remember to keep the important things in our hearts this holiday season." I smirked. "It's like Dad.......Garfield used to say: "Christmas--it's not the giving, it's not the getting, it's the loving." "Well said, best friend. Well said." Asriel and I one-arm hugged each other. The proof was in the pudding or in this case...all around us. There was Bunnie with Grand Master Splinter Sensei. Both exchanged formal bows and somehow a tea ceremony in the midst of all the chaos. Chameleon and Valkyrie were sharing a moment and some cherry tarts from Hestia. I couldn't believe my eyes but Antoine had camped out for a couple hours under the mistletoe until Sally begrudgingly agreed to a small kiss on the cheek. Which only led to Antoine fainting on the spot. "I saw....nothing." "Good answer, Commander." Violet looked to Asriel. "Well. You gonna say it? I know you wanna." "Aunt Vi..." Asriel tried to hold back the giggle. "Okay, okay. Merry Christmas to all." "And to all a good night." I toasted with him, a glass of non-alcoholic egg nog in hand. Violet toasted with a Molly Hogan. Bunnie with a glass of hot green tea. And Asriel with a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallow. It was. It really was a good Christmas night. Sub-Entry 110: "A New Years Celebration Before the Return to the Underground": We might as well go out with a bang before dropping the bomb on the brat. Like clockwork, Mitzi was already preparing for her favorite holiday. New Years. Another year older and another year wiser. "Is this really necessary?" RIpper whined as Chameleon finished tying him to a pole. "Ask me that again after seeing watching the video Violet posted of your motorcycle stunt five years ago." Chameleon leaned forward until his snout was about touching Ripper's nose. Ripper gave the most awkward, embarassed grin I'd ever seen out of him. "Harsh, boss man." "Behave yourself or Brooke might reassign you to somewhere else...like De Midian. And dude...she might make it a package deal--" "Don't EVEN joke about that, Violet." Chameleon hissed. "Not for me to decide." Chameleon glared at Ripper. "You screw this up and I will make you empty out the entire list of punishments. I am not going back to that undead HELL HOLE!" "Eheheheheheh...I hear ya loud and clear, jefe." "Was that really necessary, Vi?" I rubbed my temples. "You're really grinding on our alliance with Chameleon and company." "Just keepin it real, boss." "Do I have to turn you over to Brooke?" I folded my arms. "Oh, alright already." "Asriel will be right up with Mitzi." I looked to Bunnie. "Awesome." She was wearing that lavish oriental dress and her ornate kenseiken. Of course, because she's such a good friend to Violet, she wore the latest spaghetti-strap pink stilleto-heel sandals that Vi had bought her just for the occasion. She really likes those strappy spike-heel sandals, doesn't she? A moment of silence amid the clamour. "Major...are we prepared for what's next?" "You mean New Home." "Yeah...I know we said we'd come up with a plan but..." "You don't want to lose Asgore again. You think we were lucky last time." "Mettaton was too close for comfort. Plus I'm concerned on what's supposed to happen in the timeline. Flowey does the deed. I...don't want to let things run their course but..." "I know what you're thinking. You believe it's possible to bring about a True Pacifist Ending without a reload." "Yeah...I'd like to believe that. But that's...kinda game breaking. It's never happened before." "Volt. Follow what's in your heart." I looked down for a moment. "Commander. A new year is about to dawn. Let us save the worries for a point we can actually do something about it." "You're right. This is MItzi's Night after all. And everyone's, really. The old year is about to wash away. And hopefully we won't have another incident." "You've broken the streak for that a long while back." "Don't jinx it." I said as I fit the last of the power cables together. "Dr. Lynx?" "All is in order.} Nikita's image from her sub-lab appeared from the hologram emitter. "Violet?" "This'll be our best download yet. We're gonna light this place like a block of thermite!" "And rock this jam tonight!" Sally adjusted her D.J. headphones. "Most certainly." Bunnie agreed. "We're here!" I heard Asriel's voice as the door to the rooftop opened. "Wow. Don't you look--" "Dapper? I thought you'd say that." Asriel really spruced up when it was a big event. "But I'm not the star attraction. She is." Asriel stepped aside. With that Mitzi made her entrance. "Holy SCHNIKEES!" Going from girl-next-door to drop-dead knockout bombshell was a talent of hers that even now I couldn't explain. Old enough to be my parent, yet young enough in appearance that we had to make Violet stop referring to her as "jail bait" behind her back. Ugh. Seriously, Vi. Mitzi's the closest I have to an aunt! "Do you all like it?" "Like it? We love it!" I compimented. "Yeah, you'll have to beat every scrungus in town off of you with a stick--" Violet was quickly smacked. "Not cool, Vi." I growled before she could name drop Mr. Herbert from that infamous place on Spooner Street in Quohog, Rhode Island... "It's...okay...I know what she meant. Though I wish I didn't." MItzi rubbed the back of her head. "Really, Vi. Mitzi's like family." Vi just shrugged with a grin and turned up the flashing L.E.D. patterns on her "wearable computer dress and sandals". "Do you have to wear The Matrix as attire at every one of these New Years Eve celebrations?" "Gots to the light up the night, yo!" I shook my head. "Happy birthday, Mitzi. Your lime cake and ice cream will be waiting after the ball drop." "Thanks, guys." "And as a special surprise, we brought over a few friends to help celebrate." That's when some familiar faces emerged from our small croud of roof-top partygoers. "I'm sure you remember your old Get-Along Gang?" All 12 of them had come all the way from Neo Arcadia City. But that wasn't all. "MITZIIIII!!!!" Mitzi's eyes widened then lit up. "NERMALLLL!!!!" One double tackle-hug and a giggle-fest later... "Hey, Bestie." "Hey, BFF." "Birthday good?" "BIrthday's great!" I waved. "Welcome to Miranda City, Mom." "Got a kiss for your maternal guardian?" Yeah. I did. Hug and a kiss for the woman who made me the center of her world years ago. The woman that gave me the big heart full of compassion and industrial strength empathy I was thankful for. *Mnn." *mwah* "Hi...umm...I'm not sure what to call you. So many people in my life I call Aunt already. And...I'd feel really bad calling you something like grandma." "First name basis is perfectly okay, Asriel." "Sure. Nermal." He looked up at where the wireframe was taking shape on the EMF tether. "I'd love to speak more with you but it looks like the year's winding down. The ball's about to make its entrance." Meanwhile I had a quick chat with Montgomery. "Hey. I owe you for helping Dr. Light out with my big request while I was on mission. Thanks for keeping it descrete. Thanks for keeping it hush-hush. The ghost-in-the-shell it was for is quite grateful." "It's what friends do." The moose pat me on the back. "Chronosapien Robotics is at your disposal when you need help." He looked on. "So. You really sent the message back in time?" "Ironic the name of the company you're head engineer of is 'Chronosapien'. What with me being in the time-travel business." The fact that 'Chronosapien' was the species name of one of Ben 10's alien forms--one he called 'Clockwork'--seemed a bit of a coincidence, too. But in this UltraVerse, I began to realize there are no coincidences, only the illusion of them. "...shhh! It's starting, everyone!" Asriel stood in front of Mitzi and prompted everyone to get ready. Violet had finished up the download and the final minute was upon us. "Oh wow..." Portia gasped. "That is really something." "It's beautiful..." Nermal uttered. "It's a slice of home...Neon City." Mitzi was misty-eyed. It was getting beyond belief how much bigger and better and brighter each of these shimmer balls had gotten in half a decade. I readied the sparkling juice. "TEN! NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX! FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEEEEW YEEEEEEEEEAR!!!" The lights and display went absolutely crazy and the streets filled with confetti and the sounds of noisemakers and such. And we all took part in the singing of Auld Lang Syne; a gift that my mentors in NYC had given our city that became tradition. "Break out the cake an ice cream! We still have a birthday to celebrate!" "Enjoy your your special day, Mitzi." Asriel hugged her. "I will." The happy mood would have to last into the wee-hours of the morning. For sometime in this month, we were going back to the Underground and heading to New Home. The plan would come soon enough. Chapter 12 Back to Part 1 Back to Project Lost Dreemurr Next